Mystic Miracles
by Ambermist-29Down
Summary: Nick is the cutest, kind and most popular guys at school, but is he really what Madison thinks he is? Madison is the sweethearted, studious girl who hates Nick and he hates her back. When they become rangers, will they be able to tolerate each other?
1. Chapter 1

POWER RANGERS

MYSTIC FORCE

RIVALS

STORY

DESCRIPTION

What if Nick and Madison were arch enemies? In the story, you'll see that Madison and the great red ranger Nick are now rivals, but they haven't become power rangers… yet. What will happen when the two enemies have to work as a team?

Madison is the innocent, sweet, beautiful and studious teen who is always looking forward to tests and loves to film, but is also captain of the scholastic decathlon team. Nick on the other hand is the kind, gentle, and not to mention handsome teen who loves motorcycles. He is also one of the most popular guys in school.

Will they be able to work together or will they remain rivals and enemies. But to fulfill their destiny, they have to become power rangers, but how will they manage when two are each others worst enemies. Madison and Nick might have to put up with each other to fulfill their destiny and become the greatest power rangers the world has ever known.

CHAPTER

1

Maddie waved goodbye to her friend, Jessica, and then jogged over to the cafeteria. She was looking down at her books when she bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she gasped, but then realized it was Nick Russell.

Nick noticed it was Madison Rocca and gave a disgusted face. "Oh, it's you, Rocca," he snarled. "Nice to see you too, Russell," she said with a glare. "Why don't you watch where you're going, klutz!" he snapped. Madison rolled her eyes and pushed past him. Shaking his head, Nick watched the one and only Madison Rocca walk away.

He shook his head again and walked into the cafeteria. Nick caught Madison's eye and glared at her. She immediately returned his stare and then looked away and sighed. "Why does he have to be such a jerk?" she asked her sister, Vida.

Vida looked uneasy. "Well…" her sister trailed off. "Is he really a jerk? I mean, come on sis. What has he ever done to you, other than jokingly tease you about hiding behind your camera all the time?" Vida questioned. "He started it," Madison muttered.

Nick was sitting with the popular kids. He was the most popular kids in school. Ever since he arrived, everyone was falling all over him… or at least almost every girl was. Xander and Chip were his friends, but the two boys were also Madison and Vida's best friends too, but that didn't stop Madison Rocca from hating Nick Russell.

Madison hated most of the populars. They thought that they were all that, and always bossed others around and made other girls feel bad about themselves. Madison thought that Nick would be the same way, but he wasn't… that was, until the populars got a hold of him. Then, Nick changed, and he would tease Madison when she was filming with her camera, and it had hurt her. Ever since then, she hated Nick.

After school ended, she headed out of the school with her sister, Chip and Xander. Just then, Nick came up to them. "Oh great, look what the cat dragged in," Madison murmured loud enough for Nick to hear. "Look who's talking," he retorted. "Maddie, don't even bother," Vida said to her sister.

Maddie winced and then glared at him, making a fist. She was about to punch him when, Nick grabbed her arm. "Let go of me," she hissed. "No," he said simply. With her other hand, she punched his face. Shocked, he fell back. Maddie just stood there.

"What the heck was that?" he spat, standing up. Xander was trying so hard to hold back laughs, and Chip was holding his stomach and laughing so hard. Nick looked at Maddie straight in the eye. A grin suddenly spread across her face. Just when she turned around, Nick grabbed her arm. She spun around, her face inches away from his. She looked scared, as if he were about to hit her. Gulping, she looked him straight in the eye. "What are you going to?" she asked simply. Nick noticed how scared she was, and he let go of her.

Vida stood in front of her sister. "If you ever grab her like that again, I'll flay your skin off," Vida threatened. Nick looked past Vida at Maddie. She still looked a bit scared, but carried anger and…. something else in her big brown eyes.

For some reason, and for only a moment, he was caught in her eyes. Realizing what he was doing, he shook his head and looked away from Maddie and her sister. But before he could leave, a man came running up to them. "Please… help me!" he said, out of breath. He was an old man, and it was if he had run all the way here from the other side of the world.

"What happened?" asked Maddie, her looks of anger turning to concern and sweetness, the way she always acted when Nick wasn't around. When Nick wasn't around, Maddie was always the sweet-hearted innocent studious girl who always was nice and willing to help others.

The man took in deep breaths. "My brother..." he breathed. "He… he was taken into the forbidden forest," the man managed to say. "But no one is ever supposed to go in there," Maddie gasped. "I'll go with you. Not everyone here has to be a coward like Miss Rocca, here," he said, narrowing his brown eyes at Maddie.

Maddie, anger flaring back into her eyes said, "I'm no coward! I'm coming too," she said. Nick rolled his eyes. Vida stepped forward. "Someone has to protect my little sis," she laughed, but Maddie glared at her sister. Chip and Xander offered to go too.

Nick nodded. "Come on, then," he said. They followed the old man.

He led them into the forest… the forbidden forest. "Wow," Maddie murmured. She saw a huge cave. It looked eerie, but neat at the same time. "Hey, so which way did your-" she broke off when she didn't see the old man.

Instead, there were rustling in the bushes. "Guys?" Vida said. Just then, these weird-looking zombie monsters launched them-selves at the five teens. Nick threw punches and kicks, as did the rest… and everyone was surprised that they actually worked.

"Wow!" exclaimed Chip, excitedly looking down at his fists. Suddenly, one of the zombies threw these sharp blades at Nick. "Nick, look-out!" screamed Xander, but he wasn't close enough to Nick to push him out of the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Maddie's eyes widened. "Nick! Move," she shouted and pushed the teenager out of the way. But, instead of the blades cutting Nick, they cut Madison's arm. Blood oozed from the gash on her shoulder and she shrieked in pain. Nick quickly helped Maddie up.

"Are you crazy?" he asked. Maddie didn't answer, but held her shoulder, trying to stop the blood from escaping the deep wound. "Sis!" Vida yelled worriedly. "I-I'm okay," Maddie assured her sister. Chip grabbed Vida's arm and pulled her away from some more blades that the zombie's were throwing. "Come on… in here!" yelled Nick, and beckoned towards the eerie looking cave.

They all backed into the mouth of the cave, and suddenly, the mouth closed once they were inside. It was pitch black and dark…

"W-where are we?" Maddie asked, still holding her arm. Nick winced when he saw blood coming down her arm. Hesitantly, he asked, "Maddie, are you okay?" Madison was shocked. He never, ever called her by her first name, let alone her nickname. She forced a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm good," she assured him, but had spoken too soon. Just then, she collapsed.

"Maddie!" screamed Chip, kneeling down beside his friend. Xander's eyes widened. "What's wrong with her?" asked Xander. Vida was shaking her sister worriedly. Nick looked down at Madison. She looked so innocent, sweet… loving and yet studious and strong at the same time.

"Don't worry, Vida. Let's get her up here," he said, beckoning to a table in the cave. He picked Maddie up in his arms and laid her down on the table, but just then, the lights flickered on. Nick looked around with awe. "Does someone live here?" he asked.

"Yes," said a voice. Everyone spun around to see a beautiful woman in a white dress. "My name is Udonna," said the woman. "And you… are the power rangers," she said. "What? What the heck are power rangers?" asked Xander. "I will explain everything, but first, I should help Madison," Udonna said. "How do you know her name's Madison?" Vida asked.

Udonna smiled gently. "I have been watching you," she said, and then turned into the old man, and then back. "Oh my gosh! How did you do that?" asked Chip, obviously amazed. Nick looked down at Maddie. "Can you help her?" he asked, beckoning with his head to an unconscious Maddie. "She's lost a lot of blood from that wound on her arm, but once my apprentice casts a spell on her, she should be fine," Udonna said.

Just then, a young teen girl with long, wavy blond hair came rushing into the room. "May I, Udonna?" she asked. "Yes, you may," approved Udonna. "I'm Clare," the girl said before she said some magical words and healed Maddie's wounds. Then, Maddie started coughing feebly, but then she woke. She was still coughing, but tried to sit up. "Easy, child," Udonna said, gently pressing Maddie back down.

"Where am I?" she asked. "You are all in Rootcore," Udonna said. She then explained the history of the mystic rangers. "Now it is your turn to defeat the darkness and become the mystic force power rangers," Udonna informed after a long story. "Whoa. Now _that_ was a long story," said Chip. Maddie nodded. "So, we are expected to protect Briarwood?" she asked. Udonna nodded.

She then took out some wands and gave each of them one. Nick got red, Maddie got blue, Chip got yellow, Xander got green, and Vida… unfortunately got pink. "Pink?" she muttered. "It's not that bad," laughed Maddie. Nick smiled. "How's your shoulder?" he asked. "Why do you care?" she retorted hotly. Udonna noticed the anger and rage between the two and stiffened.

Nick glared at her. "I don't," he snapped. "Well then keep your mouth shut!" she spat, her brown eyes full of fury. "That's enough," said Udonna calmly. "If you are going to be power rangers, you two need to get along. You will fight side by side, and if you are rivals, then your powers will not come," warned Udonna. "Then maybe I wasn't meant to be a power ranger," Nick muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

He turned around and stalked away, dropping the wand on the floor. Maddie muttered something beneath her breath. "Come on, Maddie. It's not the time to fight right now," Vida said to her sister. Maddie winced. 'I didn't mean-" she began, but trailed off when her eyes narrowed. "Why should he even be a power ranger? What has he ever done to help anyone," she snarled, her voice releasing a hint of hurt and sadness.

Vida put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Sis, he hasn't done anything," she whispered. "Exactly, he's never done anything… anything to help anyone or make someone feel good about themselves," she spat, but instantly looked down. "I'm sorry, Vida. I shouldn't have raised my voice," she breathed. Vida nodded. "It's okay," she whispered.

Udonna looked curious. "Why are you two such enemies? Don't you go to the same school?" inquired Udonna. "Yeah, but he's definitely no friend," Maddie the murmured. "And why not?" asked Udonna. "Because…" Maddie trailed off when she realized that she didn't really know the answer. "He's… so popular and hangs out with those jerks. And he teased me about _hiding_ behind my camera," she muttered, not knowing if that was a good enough excuse.

"Mmm," Udonna murmured quietly. Maddie looked down. "I just don't like him," she said, standing up from the table. Chip looked unconvinced, but didn't object. "But Nick is really a nice guy," said Xander. "He's not like those jocks and jerks," Chip added. "Tell me one time he's been nice to someone like me," Maddie challenged.

Xander narrowed his eyes. "Well, there was this one time when the populars were making fun of you, and they were all going to try to make you trip so your food would fall on you, but Nick talked them out of it because he thought that it would be too harsh," Xander announced. Chip nodded. "And he also defended your friend, Jessica, and helped one of your classmates with her books," Chip told Maddie.

Maddie's eyes widened. "He did that?" she asked quietly. Chip and Xander nodded. Vida looked just as surprised. "But… I never knew," she began, but shook her head. "That doesn't mean he's nice to everyone. He still hates me," she said, and then, a sound came from outside.

"There is trouble," Udonna said hoarsely. Chip's eyes widened with excitement. "Yes! This could be our first chance to use our new powers!" exclaimed Chip. Xander nodded eagerly. Maddie's rebel sister narrowed her eyes, ready for the challenge.

The four raced outside, and somehow had gotten into different clothes, each person wearing the color of their mystic ranger power. "Neat outfits!" exclaimed Xander, but before anyone could agree, Udonna handed them their wands, but she transformed them into cell phone morphers. "Wow, cool," said Vida.

Suddenly, more of those zombie creatures hopped out from the bushes. Then, it was as if the four of them knew the exact words to say. "Magical Source! Mystic Force!" they all called out and then they changed once again.

The zombie's charged at them, and the four of them fought back. Maddie kicked out at one of the zombies and dropped to the floor and tripped three more. But then one grabbed her. She took the arm of the zombie and twisted it, making the zombie do a flip and fall heavily to the ground.

Vida threw punches and kicked. She saw Maddie fighting and was amazed, but continues to fight alongside the others.

Suddenly, Maddie felt the zombie's lash at her with their big hands and swords. There were too many. They were attacking Vida and Chip too. Xander pulled some off of them and they went back to fighting, but there were still too many. Within moments, the four of them collapsed onto the forest floor, tired and weak. "There's too many of them," said Maddie, trying to pull herself up, but couldn't.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Nick stopped dead. He felt something nagging at him. He needed to go back; he knew the others needed him. There was trouble, and something was really urging him to go back and help fight. Feeling more confident, he turned around a raced back.

He saw his fellow rangers and then pulled out his morpher. "Magical Source. Mystic Force!" he shouted and changed into his power ranger uniform. He stood in front of the rangers and said, "Come on, we can't give up!"

Madison for some reason felt a surge of admiration for Nick. She stood up and began to fight. Nick urged the others on. Soon, every warrior was up and fighting. The zombies were soon either rushing off or were getting beat by the rangers. Maddie dropped to the ground and knocked three of the zombies off their feet and then jumped up and felt power rising inside her. Suddenly, water sprung up from the forest floor and flew up into the sky like many fountains and carried the zombies with them.

Nick kicked and threw punches and he too felt power rising up in him. Just then, fire came from his hands and burned the zombies. Chip felt the same way. "Hey guys, check this out!" he exclaimed with lightning struck the zombies. Vida began a whirling wind that carried the zombies into the air while Xander began controlling vines that attacked the zombies.

"This feels great!" shouted Xander excitedly. Maddie nodded and looked at the water that soon came back down to the ground. But she felt something grasp her neck and she gasped for breath. Vida yelled, "Hey, get away from my sister!" and kicked the zombie that had his hands around Madison's neck, into the sky and it got carried away in a whirl wind. Maddie fell to the floor and began coughing really bad. Xander and Chip chased the last of the zombies away while Nick battled with the leader of the zombies, which was a huge monster, who was soon defeated by Nick.

Maddie was still coughing and was really shaky while Vida looked at the red marks around Maddie's neck. Vida winced. Chip, Nick and Xander came and kneeled beside Madison. "Are you okay?" Nick asked, looking at the wounds on her neck. Maddie nodded. "Yeah, I'm…" she trailed off as she coughed some more. Xander helped her up and they walked back into the human world.

The next day at school, everyone was wondering why Maddie's neck looked so bad. "I'm fine, really. I'd rather not talk about it," she had said to everyone who had asked her what happened.

"What's with that geek? It's not like she was almost murdered or something," muttered Nick to Xander. "Uh, Nick… she kind of almost _was_ murdered," Xander told Nick. "Well, she doesn't have to act like she's the only person in the world who had ever been threatened by anyone in their life," he spat, glaring at Madison, but at the same time, he felt sympathy for her.

Maddie caught Nick's glare and looked away, rolling her eyes. "Why does he always have to start something?" she asked. Vida breathed an irritated sigh. Madison shot her sister an apologetic look an after a few long moments, she began blurting out about how rude and insensitive Nick was. Vida smiled and shook her head and laughed.

"What?" asked Madison. "I swear, you act as if you like the guy," teased Vida. "What! Me? Like someone like Russell?" she hissed with a disgusted face. Vida shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, fine. You don't like him," she said, not sure if she was completely convinced.

Nick turned away, but their cell phone morphers rang. Just then, the bell rang for school to end. "Perfect timing," she whispered and he and Xander raced over to Chip who lead them over to the two sisters. "You guys ready?" Nick asked. Everyone nodded. "Let's go then," Nick told them and he lead them to where the danger was.

There, in the park, was a bat vampire woman. "Hello, rangers. I'm Necroali. And you're dead," she hissed and attacked the rangers. "Magical Source. Mystic Force!" they all chanted and then they attacked Necroali. Vida dusked and dodged blows from the vampire and then created a whirl wind, but the vampire destroyed it and made it head towards Maddie and Nick.

Maddie screamed and reached out for something, but nothing was in reach. Nick blasted fire at Necroali before he was carried into the air with Maddie. Necroali flew back and crashed into some trash cans. She quickly regained her strength, and the other three rangers attacked her.

Meanwhile, the whirlwind was dieing down, and then, Nick and Madison fell from the sky. But, Maddie toppled onto Nick. Her eyes widened wit embarrassment and her cheeks flushed a bright red. She got off of him and he looked at her, obviously embarrassed too. They quickly joined into the battle and Necroali backed off. "We will meet again, rangers," she declared and vanished.

The five teens arrived back at Rootcore. "You all fought well," Udonna said to her apprentices when she came out from one of the rooms. Clare, Udonna's other apprentice that was training to become the next sorceress, was with her and was smiling at them with admiration. "You guys were awesome," she exclaimed. Maddie smiled and then turned to her sister. "That _was _a pretty strong whirlwind you made back there," she commented. Vida and Maddie gave one another a high five. "Yeah, it was good, wasn't it," she said proudly.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but the bad part was is that you made Miss. Rocca, the klutz fall on top of me," he muttered. "I'm not a klutz," she yelled, stalking up to Nick, her arms crossed over her chest. "Yes you are," he teased. "Alright, that's enough, you two," said Udonna, stepping between the two arguing teens.

Maddie glared at Nick, feeling she really wanted to strangle him. Nick was returning her stare. "Why do you have to be such a jerk?" she asked, her eyes growing from anger to sadness. She turned around and walked out of Rootcore. Nick stared after her, shocked by not what, but _how_ she had asked him why he was acting like such a jerk. He had never seen her so hurt, and why was _even_ hurt?

He shook his head. Whatever Madison thought or felt, that was her problem and he didn't give a care. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and then saw Vida looking at him with such rage and fury. "What?" he asked. She shook her head and then Nick turned to see Xander and Chip looking at him with uneasy stares. "Nick, I think you really hurt her feelings this time," said Xander. Vida pushed past Nick and went after her sister.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Vida came back to the Rock Porium to find Maddie helping a customer. She was smiling, but something told Vida that she wasn't alright. When she was finished with helping the customer, Vida walked up to her. "Hey, sis, are you okay?" she asked Maddie. Madison turned around to see her sister and forced a smile. "Yeah," she said. "I'm great." Vida sighed, unconvinced.

Maddie leaned against the wall. "Come on, Maddie. Nick was just…." Vida trailed off, trying to find the right words. Maddie shook her head. "I don't really care," she breathed and walked off to organize some CDs. Toby came up to the two sisters. "Hey, where are the rest of my employees?" he asked. "Out," said Madison without much feeling. Toby looked from Madison to Vida who just shrugged her shoulders.

When Toby left, Vida took the CDs from her sister and put them on the table next to them. "Listen to me, Maddie. Nick is not a bad guy. He's the leader of the rangers and we have to except that. He's our friend. If we are going to be the legendary warriors, we have to become one," said Vida. "But he's just so…." She didn't finish because she didn't know what to say. "I just don't like him. And I know he hates me, after all, we've been enemies ever since he arrived here," Maddie said to her sister. "Nick just needs to learn how to be… nicer," she said. "Just like _you _need to learn to be nicer," Vida retorted.

Maddie froze. Was her sister right? She shook her head. Instead of saying something back, she walked off again, but this time, she went home. Her sister came home about three hours later, and Xander and Chip were with her. Maddie had changed from her work outfit into white caprice and a tank top with dark blue and light blue stripes on it. When she came out of her room, she was surprised to see three of the five rangers heading to Vida's room with sneaky looks on their faces.

"Hey, guys, what are you doing here?" Maddie asked. Chip stood straight and smiled to Maddie. "Um, we were just coming over to hang out," Chip said, stammering as he did so. Maddie tilted her head to one side while the three teens hurried into Vida's room. Shrugging her shoulders, she went back into her room to finish her homework.

When she had finished, she began editing the videos she made with her camera. Was Nick right? Did she always hide behind her camera? Shaking her head, she thought, _why should I even care about what Nick thinks?_

The next day, she and Vida headed over to Rootcore, where they would be training. They met up with Xander who looked at Vida with a questioning stare. Maddie wondered what they were up to. Chip acted weird too, but Madison just ignored it. When Nick came, she ignored him completely, not even trying to glare at him or say something mean to him. "Alright, today we will be learning how to use your powers in various ways," said Udonna. They began their training and had to find their own flags somewhere in the forest and had to capture them, using their powers and overcoming any obstacle that was in their way. Madison saw her flag. It was in a crashing hurricane.

"Magi Staff!" she yelled and used her Magi Staff to make an opening in the hurricane and made water spring up from the ocean to create a path where she jumped from water step to water step. She jumped up and grabbed her flag and destroyed the hurricane with her Magi Staff. "Go Maddie!" shouted Chip, giving Xander a high five. Vida soon captured her flag from a tornado and Xander got his from trees that were crashing to the ground.

"Nick, it's your turn!" shouted Xander. Chip looked around for his, but couldn't find it. There was a firestorm and Nick's flag was in the middle of it. He jumped into the air and with his Magi Staff, he created a path of light where the fire shied away. He grabbed his flag, but the fire blocked his only path out. "Where is he?" asked Vida in a worried tone. Maddie felt a little worried too. Just then, a huge ray of light appeared and it destroyed the firestorm. He came out with his flag and everyone cheered. Maddie didn't join in, but she raced up to him with the others and smiled.

"Now it's my turn," said Chip. Then, he saw his flag under a heap of boulders. With his hands, he made a lightning storm and blew up the boulders and got his flag. Then, they magically appeared at Rootcore. "I'm very impressed with you all," said Udonna with pride. Clare raced up to them and smiled. "You guys are really amazing," she said. Vida smiled and Maddie said, "Well, we have a great mentor." Udonna shook her head. "You five are really incredible. I have a great feeling about you, and that you really _are_ the legendary warriors," said Udonna.

Nick and Xander high fived and then they all kicked back and relaxed at Rootcore. Maddie took her camera out of her backpack and started filming. "Hey, V! You want to say something to the camera?" she asked, smiling. Vida was listening to some cool music and she turned to volume up. "Only to give a shout out to my best friends and to my one and only sister," said Vida. Maddie smiled and said, "That's Vida, my sister. She loves music and loves to DJ. She's really strong and sometimes protective of me, but I couldn't have asked for a better sister," she said to the camera.

She moved onto Xander and Chip. "Say hello to my two best friends, Chip and Xander. They are really fun to hang out with. Chip is daring and is really something else, but a great friend while Xander 'the great' is the ladies man, but is also a good friend," she said. "They're like the two brothers I never had," she said. Xander and Chip waved. She walked over to Nick. "Hey, Nick, you want to say something?" she asked with a smile. He looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Hiding behind the camera again, are we?" he asked. She turned to camera off. "I'm not _hiding_," she said. "Whatever," he muttered, not even looking at her.

Maddie opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, she sat down next to him. "Look, Nick, if we're going to be the power rangers, we'll have to get along," she said, hating herself for saying that when she hated Nick so much. "Madison, you and I will _never_ get along, okay… so stop making a bigger fool out of yourself," he said. "'At least I'm trying," she spat. "Which is more than any of us could say for you," she snapped and stalked off.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

She put her camera in her backpack and said something to Udonna. The white sorceress nodded and Madison left. Vida walked up to Nick. "What did you say to her this time?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Nothing. I don't see why she has to be a big baby about everything," Nick muttered out loud. "She's not a big baby. She's just sensitive and she has feelings. She has feelings that you hurt all the time," Vida hissed angrily. "She was only trying to break the feud between you and her," Vida said. "Maddie is my sister, and I'm not going to let you or anyone else tease her, hurt her, or do anything that will break her heart," she snapped at Nick.

Nick suddenly felt guilty. He _had_ been a bit unfair. He looked over to where Madison had left and he looked over to Vida who was walking back to the radio where she turned the radio of, but put her head phone on that way no one else could hear what she was listening to. _Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on Madison, _he thought. Standing up, she walked out of Rootcore, waving goodbye to Chip and Xander.

When he was out of Rootcore and in the forest, Clare came running up to him. "Nick! Thank goodness I found you," panted Clare. "What is it, Clare?" Nick asked, putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "It's Madison. She's… she's been attacked by one of the dark monsters. She needs your help," panted Clare. Nick's eyes widened. "Where is she?" he asked. Clare raced ahead, Nick following the sorceress in training. She led him to a part of the forest where Maddie was fighting a monster. She was pinned down by the monster and the monster was about to kill her with his giant razor sharp claw.

"No!" yelled Nick. He jumped in front of Madison before the monster could stab her and he cut of the monster's hand with his sword. The monster yelped in pain, and then vanished. He turned around to see Maddie, staring up at him with surprise. "You saved me," she said. Nick didn't say anything. Instead, he helped her up and Clare ran forward to help Madison. "Are you alright, Maddie?" asked Clare worriedly. "Yeah, Clare, I'm fine," she said. "I need to go back to Rootcore and tell the others," said Clare. "Can you escort her out, Nick?" asked Clare. The both opened their mouth to object, but Clare hurried off.

Nick began walking. Madison trailed behind. "Thank you," she said out of no where. "For what?" Nick asked. Madison rolled her eyes. "For saving me, you bone head," she snapped. "What else would I be thanking you for?" she said. Nick stopped and turned around to face her. "Why in the world would you go out there alone, anyways?" he asked. "Since when do I need to ask you when I can and can't leave?" she hissed. "You may be the leader of the rangers, but you're _not_ the person who makes our decisions for us," she said. Nick looked down at her. "You're the most stubborn person I have ever met," he said. "Yeah, well you're not so great yourself," she muttered to him and he glared at her. She looked down at her hands. "Look, I just…" she trailed off, trying to find the right words. "Thank you," she said again.

Nick looked surprised. "Um, y-you're welcome," he stammered. She looked down. "We should keep going," she said and took the lead. Soon they were out of the forest. When they were out, the two didn't say anything.

Maddie breathed a sigh and walked over to a tree. "Can you take care yourself now? I don't need to baby-sit you all the way to your house, do I?" he asked. Madison let out an irritated and exasperated sigh. "Must you always be such a jerk!" she yelled. "And no, I do not need you to baby-sit me because I'm not a baby. If you were smart, you'd know that," she spat, and then spun around and walked home.

Nick sighed. "Great," he muttered. "Maddie, wait!" he called after Madison. Maddie turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. She slowly started walking back up to him, her cheeks flushing red. "Look, I-I'm sorry," he stammered, feeling awkward saying that. Maddie nodded slowly, biting her lip. "I just… I don't know, maybe I'm not the guy that usually hangs out with girls like you," he said, trying to make it sound as nice as possible. "What's that supposed to mean? Girls like me?" she asked challenging. "Wait, no I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly.

"Madison, I-I guess I'll start trying to tolerate you," he said with a smile. "No madder how hard it is," he added teasingly. She rolled her eyes and punched him playfully. He smiled and so did she. Then she realized what was happening and she shook her head and then said, "I-I'm just going to leave." Nick blushed, obviously embarrassed as well. She smiled at him one more time. "Thanks, Nick," she said and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

Nick was surprised, but after a few moments, he hugged her back. They broke apart and she had turned even redder than ever. Nick looked the same, and he then said goodbye and they went to their own houses.

Vida came home to see Maddie looking brighter than usual. "What's gotten into you?" asked Vida. "Did Nick ask you out or something?" she teased. Maddie's brown eyes filled with anger and fury. "No!" she spat. "Why would I go out with Nick?" she asked. Vida shrugged. "Okay, fine," she said. Maddie shook her head. "Nick and I promised that we would try to get along," she admitted, a smile growing on her face.

Vida's jaw dropped. "You're kidding," she said. Maddie groaned. "Why is that so hard to believe?" she asked. "Because the only words you have ever spoken of Nick is how rude and what a jerk he is," Vida said. "I know, but, he saved my life today," she whispered. "He what?" asked Vida. "He saved my life," she repeated. "When?" Vida inquired excitedly. "Well, when I left, one of those monsters attacked me, and then… he saved me," she said shyly in her innocent and sweet-looking shy ways. Vida gave her sister a teasing look. Maddie smiled and looked down.

"Aw, my sister's got a crush," said Vida. "No I don't! I just think we can be friends now," explained Maddie. "Sure," said Vida, completely unconvinced. Madison hit her sister with a pillow and soon the two had begun a pillow fight.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Suddenly there was a knock on Maddie's bedroom door. "Come in," she said, and her mother stepped into her room. She saw the two girls had pillows thrown across the room, and Maddie's hair was messed up. "Having a pillow fight, I see," said their mom. Maddie bit her lip. Vida rolled her eyes. "So what if we were?" she asked. Their mom rolled her eyes, but had a smile on her face.

Maddie breathed a sigh of relief that their mom wasn't upset. "Dinner is almost ready," she said and walked out of the room. Madison went to her bathroom, got a brush and began brushing her long dark hair. Vida did the same. "So…" Vida said, wondering what she should say. "_Do_ you like Nick?" she asked. "And tell the truth," she added quickly. Maddie glared at her sister. "Of course not," she said and continued to brush her hair. Vida felt almost completely convinced, but wasn't so sure.

The day after, they all arrived at Rootcore, ready to train again. They trained hard, and improved on their skills that included fighting, using their codes, and using their staffs and powers for various reasons. "Well, I'm tired," said Xander, after the long day of training. "Me too," moaned Vida. "Me three," said Maddie, sitting down on the stair steps and looked through her bag. "Darn it, I forgot my camera at home," she muttered to herself. She shrugged her shoulders and went to sit next to Chip, who was eating.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to what Chip was eating. "It's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with mustard, chili and cheese," he said, taking a bit. Maddie felt herself almost throw up, but she didn't. She made a disgusted face when some of the chili oozed from the sandwich. "Okay, I'm just…. going to leave you to it," she said Chip and walked over to where Nick was. "Um, hey," she said shyly.

Nick nodded. "What's up?" he asked. "Nothing," she said, wondering if she should sit down or just go away. "So, um… what do you for fun?" she asked. _What kind of question is that? Come on, Madison, it's not like your talking to your crush. Snap out of it, _she thought to herself. Nick shrugged. "I like working on my bike," he said. She nodded. "Cool," she said, sitting down beside him. The two didn't say anything for a while, and Maddie was relieved when Vida finally spoke up. "Hey, how about we all go to the movies or something," Vida suggested.

Xander nodded. "Sure," he said. "Cool, I'll go," Chip added. Maddie smiled and nodded excitedly. "Are you going to go?" she asked Nick. He thought for a second. "No, I'm okay. I still need to work on my bike," he explained. "Well, can't you take a break?" asked Vida coming over to him. Nick shook his head. "I'll be okay," he said. "But you should come. It'll be fun," Maddie said. "It's okay. I'm way behind on my motorcycle as it is, I mean with all this saving the city stuff," he began, "So, thanks, but I'm not going," he said. Maddie rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself," she said and walked back over to Xander, who was talking to Chip about who to take to the movies with him.

Maddie smiled and rolled her eyes. Xander always had hot dates lining up the block for him. She thought it was funny, because he never stayed in one relationship. It only lasted a day, and maybe two, but that was rare.

"Hey, Xander, how about you take Leelee?" she suggested, teasingly. Leelee was a girl that both Xander and Chip thought was hot, but she didn't like either of them. She always turned them down, _and_ she was the snobbiest girl ever. Maddie hated her, and she didn't know why all the guys adored her. "Oh, wait, she's not into you," she teased, and Xander glared at her, and she smiled innocently.

That night, she arrived at the movies with her sister. Her long hair hung over her shoulders and she wore jeans with a white tank top and a jean jacket. Chip arrived two minuets later. "I wonder where Xander is," murmured Maddie to her sister and her friend.

"Hey, guys, look who decided to join the party," said a voice from behind them. It was Xander, and Nick was with him, along with a girl who they all knew too well. "Nick? We that you weren't coming," said Vida. "Me too, but Xander here wouldn't stop trying to talk me into the going with you guys, so I decided to tag along," he said. Maddie smiled, but it faded with she saw the girl. "Leelee?" she asked. She smiled and nodded.

"I took your advice, Maddie," Xander said, giving her a teasing glare. She rolled her eyes and forced a smile. "Well, come on. We're going to be late. You guys want to see Transformers or Hairspray?" asked Vida. They voted for Transformers.

When they found their seats, Vida looked over to Xander and gave him a thumbs up. Maddie wondered what they were up to. He nodded and whispered something in Leelee's ear. Then he took her hand and they stood up. "Where are you guys going?" asked Maddie suspiciously. "We're going to sit apart from you guys, that way it'll seem more like a date," he said. "But can't we stay, I want to sit with Nick," she said, winking at Nick, "And the others," she added quickly. Xander shook his head and they went away from the three.

Just then, Chip's eyes widened. "I don't think I should've eaten that sandwich. I think I'm going to puke," he said, standing up and running to the restroom. Vida made a face, but stood up and went after him. Maddie's own eyes widened. "Vida, wait, don't leave me," she whispered desperately, but Vida was gone. She was alone with Nick.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

She felt her heart pounding so hard against her chest; she was worried everyone in the theater would hear it. Trying to relax, she asked Nick, "Want some popcorn?" He nodded and took some. Maddie was relieved when both of them became so into the movie that they barely talked.

Once, Maddie reached for some popcorn, but at the same time, Nick did too and their hands touched. She drew her hand back quickly. So did Nick. Her cheeks became a pinkish color and she looked down nervously. She felt Nick watching her for a moment.

When the movie ended, she and Nick stood and walked over to Xander and Leelee. Maddie felt so relieved that she was back with her friend again. "Where's Vida and Chip?" she asked. "Oh, they're waiting out in the front," said Leelee, eyeing Nick with mischievous eyes. Maddie felt a rush of anger. Leelee was supposed to be here with Xander, not Nick!

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she and the others headed out of the front of the movie theater. She saw Chip and Vida sitting on a bench and Xander and Leelee raced over to them. "It was a good movie, huh?" she asked Nick, not sure what to say. It was hard to talk to him since they had been enemies for practically all of their lives.

Nick nodded with a smile. "It was cool," he said. Vida ran up to them. "Hey sis, how was the movie. It sucks that I didn't get to see it, since Chip over there can't seem to eat edible food," he muttered, the expression on her face telling them that she was disappointed. "It was good," she said to her sister with a laugh. Chip _was_ always eating gross food.

Xander came up to Nick. "You need a ride home, mate?" he asked. "Sure," said Nick. "See you guys later," he said to Vida and Maddie. She smiled and nodded. "Chip's going with us," Xander said, beckoning for Chip to follow them.

"Bye, guys!" Maddie called with a bright smile. Then, she turned around and faced her sister, her smile disappearing instantly and was replaced by a stinging glare. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "Do what?" asked Vida, confused, or was she? "You left me all alone with Nick!" she yelled. "I thought you two were friends," Vida said mischievously. "We are, but I'm not all that used to him, yet. I felt all awkward," she said, giving her sister an angry stare.

Vida sighed. "I'm sorry," she said, not sounding like she meant it. "Let's go home," she said. Maddie nodded. By the time they got home, Maddie had completely forgiven Vida. "So, was Chip throwing up that whole time?" Maddie asked, laughing. "No, but when he was better, they wouldn't let him back in because they were worried he would throw up on everyone," said Vida angrily. "So I stayed with him, and man was it boring," she said. Maddie smiled.

"Do you want to know what happens?" she asked Vida. "Of course not!" Vida exclaimed. Maddie giggled. "We can go see it again, if you want," said Maddie to her sister. "I'll go with Chip another day, but you don't have to go," Vida murmured. Maddie shrugged, getting up and going to the bathroom to change into her night clothes. It was ten thirty, but she wasn't going to bed quite yet.

Maddie stayed up downstairs watching TV. For some reason, she couldn't help thinking about when her hand touched Nick's. She felt something deep down inside her, but she didn't know what it was. But it was a good feeling…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

At school the next day at lunch, Chip had left to go home early since he still wasn't feeling well. Xander was sitting at a table with Leelee, and Vida wasn't hungry so she went to go and catch up on some homework, which was hard for Maddie to believe, but she shrugged it off.

She saw Nick sitting with the new girl, Kuinn. The new girl was as beautiful as any girl could possibly look. She had long silky blond hair with piercing blue eyes. Vida, Xander, Nick, Chip and her had met her earlier.

_(This is what happened when they met Kuinn)_

_Nick walked alongside Chip talking about how good the movie was last night when he bumped into someone. It was a girl, but he didn't see who. "Oh, sorry about that," he said, picking up the books that had fallen from the girls arms onto the floor. When he handed them back to the girl, he saw the beautiful Kuinn with her blond hair and pretty blue eyes._

"_Uh, hi," said Nick. "Hi," said the girl. "I'm Kuinn. I'm new to the school," she said, smiling at Nick, the lip gloss on her lips shinning. Nick was obviously amazed by how pretty Kuinn was because all he could do was look down at her with his mouth open. Maddie giggled and nudged Nick. "Oh, right, um… you need any help getting around?" he asked Kuinn, taking Maddie's hint. Vida crossed her arms over her chest. "There's something about her that doesn't seem right," Vida whispered to Maddie._

_Maddie shrugged her shoulders. She didn't want to get involved. "Sure," Kuinn said, giving Nick a mischievous smile. Kuinn looked Maddie up and down and then said in a rude tone. "Nice top. I think I saw it at a trailer park garage sale," she said. Kuinn let out a small laugh and Nick joined in, obviously not hearing what Kuinn had said to her. _

_Maddie's jaw dropped. She was speechless. She looked down at her top and then for some reason, zipped up her jacket, not sure why she was even believing Kuinn. Nick and the new girl left and Maddie didn't see either of them until lunch. "Don't listen to her," said Vida, zipping down Maddie's jacket for her. Maddie made a weak smile. "Thanks," she murmured and walked to class_

_(End of what happened)_

"Hey, Nick!" she said happily, coming to sit next to him. But before she could even put her tray down, a few more kids came and filled up the table. "Sorry, we're full," said one of the cheerleaders that were sitting beside Nick. "And besides, this table isn't for dorks and nerds like you," said another cheerleader. Maddie looked at Nick who gave her an apologetic look. Maddie looked down and then said, "Oh, okay. Well, I… um, I'll see you later Nick." "Maddie, I'm sorry-" Nick began, but she cut him off. "It's okay, I think I see another table over there," she said and walked off.

She sat down at an empty table and breathed a sigh. "Great, I just embarrassed myself into the next century," she muttered and tossed her food around the plate with her fork. She let out another sigh and waited for lunch to end.

Later that day, Maddie walked to her locker. She put in the combination and then put her books inside. "Maddie, hey!" said Nick, coming up to her. "Look, I'm really sorry about what happened at lunch," he said. "It's okay, just forget about it," she said. "But I want to make it up to you," he said. She smiled and looked down at her hands. "You… want to get some ice cream tonight or something?" he asked. "You can bring Vida too," he said. Just then Vida walked up. "I can go where?" she asked. "To get some ice cream with us," said Nick.

Vida raised an eye brow. "You two? Getting ice cream?" she asked. "I must be dreaming," muttered Vida. She shook her head. "I can't. I promised I'd help Chip with homework tonight since he missed most of today's lesson," she said, "But you two go and have fun," she said, smiling at Maddie. Maddie's cheeks flushed red and so did Nick's.

"So, do you want to go?" he asked. Maddie smiled. "Sure," she said. "I meet you at the ice cream parlor, then?" she asked. "You bet," she said and they walked away.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Maddie hurried home and said hi to her mom and dad. Then, she ran upstairs and went into her room, closing the door behind her. She started to think. _Why am I so excited?_ She asked herself. Shaking her head, she went to the bathroom and pulled a brush through her long dark colored hair. Next, she did her hair really nice, making it wavy with the curling iron.

Just then, Vida came in. Maddie knew her sister would make a big fuss over her doing her hair when she was only having ice cream with a friend, but what could she do? When Vida saw Maddie, she had a suspicious look on her face. "What are you doing?" Maddie's sister asked. Maddie stumbled for an answer. "Oh, you know… just, um, trying something new," she stammered. Vida shrugged and left.

Maddie was confused. Her sister never left without getting the real truth. Wait… what _was_ the real truth. _I don't even know what the real truth is_, she thought to herself, puzzled. She cleared her thoughts and continued doing her hair. After her hair was done, she went to her closet and picked out her cutest jeans and a pretty dark blue halter top.

She sat down on her bed and thought real hard. "Why am I doing this?" she asked herself quietly. "You don't like him, Maddie. You're just his friend, and you don't feel anything more," she told herself. After convincing herself, she left for the ice cream parlor.

She arrived there and sat down at a table. After five minuets, a lady that looked like she was in her thirties asked Maddie, "You ready to order sweet-heart?" Maddie smiled politely, but shook her head. "Not yet," she said. The lady nodded with a smile. "Waiting for someone?" she asked. Maddie's cheeks flushed red, but she nodded.

_(What Nick is Doing)_

Nick got ready to leave school when he saw Kuinn walking home. He got on his motorcycle and rode up to her. "Need a ride?" he asked charmingly. She smiled when she saw him and nodded. "Sure," she said. Nick handed her the other helmet and she put it on, and then sat behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

The two drove to Kuinn's house. "You want to come in?" she asked Nick. "My parents aren't home," she added with a sweet smile. Nick thought for a moment and then nodded. "Sure," he said and took of his helmet. Kuinn took his hand and unlocked the front door and they went inside.

"You want something to drink?" she asked, taking off her sweater to reveal a tight white tank top. Nick shook his head. "N-no thanks," he stammered. She shrugged. "Okay," she said, and beckoned for him to follow her. The two walked up stairs and went into Kuinn's room. The walls were blue and she had pictures of her and many other girls and some pictures had a few boys in them. Nick stiffened, but relaxed when Kuinn put her hand on his arm.

Something about the blue walls reminded him of something. He felt like he was forgetting something important, but he ignored it. He turned to Kuinn who was sitting on her bed. "I was wondering if you could help me with my homework," asked Kuinn innocently. Nick smiled. "Sure," he replied, sitting down beside Kuinn.

Nick took of his backpack and Kuinn brought out her home work. They needed to learn how to create a source of electricity, so they were going to have to learn the correct parts of metal and the batteries and all that stuff.

Nick blind folded Kuinn and then she would reach around for something and she would have to name the part. Kuinn picked up something and named it easily. "Good," said Nick. Kuinn reached for something else and gave a puzzled look. "What's this?" she asked. "My cell phone," said Nick, laughing. Kuinn gave him the cell phone and giggled.

_(What Maddie is _Doing

Maddie looked at the clock that hung on the wall. She had been there for twenty minuets. Nick was supposed to be here already. "Are you sure you don't want to order?" asked the lady from behind the counter with a sympathetic expression. "Um, yeah I'm sure," she said, forcing a nice smile.

She breathed a sigh, worried. Taking out her cell phone, she called Vida. "Hello?" said Vida. "Hey, V. Have you heard from Nick lately? He's not here, and he's supposed to be," she said worriedly. "Hey sis! No, I haven't, but I'm sure he's fine. Don't worry," assured Vida, sounding a bit worried herself.

Maddie saw the lady give her a stare that told Maddie that she felt sorry for her. She avoided the lady's eyes and looked down. _Should I call him? _She asked herself in her head. She called Nick's phone number, and it rang… and rang… and rang, but no body answered. "Nick, where are you?" she whispered so quietly that no body could hear.

She looked out the window, hoping to see him, but she didn't. "He'll be here," she told herself quietly. For some reason she felt completely unconvinced, but she had hope… hope that wherever he was, he was okay….


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Maddie looked at the clock for the tenth time. Nick was forty five minuets late. She couldn't believe this. Had he forgotten? Did something come up? The lady came from behind the counter and walked up to Maddie. "Sweet-heart, are you okay?" she asked. Maddie looked up and nodded. "I'll give him a few more minuets," she said. "Alright," said the lady with sympathy in her eyes.

Sighing, Maddie couldn't help but think something happened. After ten minuets, she told the lady what ice cream she wanted. When she got her ice cream, she mixed it up with her spoon and felt tears swell up inside her eyes. Not hungry, she stood and threw her ice cream away and waved goodbye to the lady and left. She had been there for an hour and she knew something was wrong, and besides, she wasn't going to wait there all day.

The sun was setting, making the sky turn a pinkish yellow color, which made the horizon look really pretty. Maddie began to walk home, feeling worried, disappointed, confused and really puzzled, but mostly worried.

_(What Nick is Doing)_

Nick and Kuinn had finished their homework and were now watching a movie in her room. He still couldn't help feeling he had forgotten something very important. He tried to ignore it, but it still rushed into his mind. _What is it?_ He asked himself. Kuinn looked at him with concern in her pale beautiful blue colored eyes.

"Nick, are you okay?" she asked him. Nick looked at her. "I feel like I've forgotten something, but I don't know what," he explained to the beautiful girl who sat beside him. "Well, I know something that can take your mind of it," she said mischievously. "What?" he asked. Kuinn smiled and leaned forward and pressed her lips against his in a kiss. Nick was surprised at first, but then kissed her back and deepened the kiss.

_(What Maddie is Doing)_

As Maddie walked, she recognized Kuinn's house. She felt even more confused when she saw Nick's motorcycle in the drive way. Suddenly, she looked up and saw through the window, Nick kissing Kuinn. Her jaw dropped open in surprise. Nick had been at Kuinn's house this whole time.

Maddie felt tears rush to her eyes, and they rolled down her cheeks. She stood there, rooted to the ground, feeling hurt as ever. How could he have forgotten about getting ice cream with her? More tears streamed down her cheeks and she looked down at the ground and at her hands, wondering if he had deliberately not come, or if he had forgotten.

_(What Nick is Doing)_

Nick noticed someone staring at them from outside. He broke apart from Kuinn and looked at the window and saw someone standing there. Instantly, he remembered what he had forgotten. He had forgotten that he had promised he'd meet Maddie at the ice cream parlor. Maddie stood there, watching them with tears coming down her cheeks.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot about Maddie," he said and rushed down the stairs. "Nick, wait!" called Kuinn, running down the stairs after him. He came outside and saw Maddie. To his surprise, she looked really beautiful. When she saw him, she started walking away. "Maddie, wait, please!" he called after her. She didn't respond. He wanted to run after her, but he felt someone tug on his arm.

It was Kuinn. "Kuinn, I need to apologize to her," he said. "Nick, just let her go," she told him. For some odd reason, she listened to Kuinn. He watched Madison walk away. He sighed. He had really screwed up.

"Um, I need to go, Kuinn. I'll see you tomorrow," he told her. Kuinn gave him a sad look. "Why?" she asked him sweetly. "I need to… be alone right now," he said. Kuinn nodded, but leaned forward and kissed Nick deeply, putting her hand on his neck. He had no choice but to kiss her back. When they finally broke apart, he climbed on his motorcycle and rode off, thinking about how he would apologize to Maddie. She had looked really pretty, and for some reason, Nick couldn't get her image out of his mind. This wasn't a good start of them being friends… and he felt so bad. She had looked so hurt, and Nick wanted so badly just to rewind all this.

_(What Maddie is Doing)_

Maddie came inside the house. "Hi honey. What's wrong?" asked her mother. "I don't want to talk about it," she said and ran upstairs and went inside her room, shutting the door behind her. She leaned against the door and slid to the floor and wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face in her knees.

She looked up after a while and wiped the tears from her eyes. How could he do that to her? She felt so used and taken advantage of. She felt as if she had made a complete fool out of herself. How could she ever think that she and Nick Russell would ever be friends…? She hated herself for thinking they wouldn't be enemies anymore. Obviously, she was completely wrong.

Standing up, she walked to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She still looked the same from when she left, except for her wet cheeks and the tears in her eyes. "Why did I even do this?" she asked herself. Sighing, she changed into her night clothes and crawled into bed. She lay there, thinking… what could have been and what should've been…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The next day, Maddie sat down at an empty lunch table and tossed her food around her plate with her fork. Then, someone came up to her and sat down beside her. She was thankful that it wasn't Nick. It was Chip. "Oh, hey Chip. How are you feeling?" she asked. "Better," he said. "I heard about what happened with you and Nick," he said sympathetically. "I don't want to talk about it," she said, looking down at her food.

"But I do," said another voice. Maddie looked over her shoulder and saw Nick. "Go away," she said. "Maddie, just give me a chance to explain," he said. "Explain what Nick? That you made me look like a fool while you made out with Kuinn?" she said loudly, standing up and facing him. Chip got up and slowly walked to another table and murmured something to his friends that sat next to him.

Almost everyone in the cafeteria became silent and looked in Maddie and Nick's direction when she said what she had out loud. Maddie grabbed her bag and pushed past Nick, bumping him hard in the shoulder. Nick winced.

Maddie stormed off and walked to her locker. After she put her books inside, she closed it and saw Kuinn standing there. Maddie jumped when she saw Kuinn. "Don't scare me like that," she said to Kuinn. "Look, Madison. I just want you to get something straight. You need to stay away from Nick," the blond girl said. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere near that… that…" she trailed off as she couldn't find the right words to say.

With that, Maddie walked off, leaving Kuinn satisfied, obviously. Vida then came up to Maddie and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "Does this mean you hate Nick again?" she finally asked. Maddie nodded. "Yes," she said simply. Vida sighed. Maddie turned to face her sister with a hurt expression. "Vida, you don't think I'm being unfair, do you?" Maddie asked. Vida shrugged her shoulders, giving her sister a look that told her she honestly didn't know. "I don't know, sis. But I do know that what he did was wrong, even if he forgot about the ice cream thing. No body can _really _blame you," said Vida, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder.

While the two sisters walked down the hallways, Maddie saw Nick pass. He was with Kuinn, who was smiling brightly and hand her hand in Nick's. For some reason, Maddie felt a surge of jealousy and anger rush through her. She caught Nick's eye, but instead of glaring at him like she used to, she just looked down at the ground, and you could see the hurt flashing in her eyes. Vida looked over at Nick with an unreadable expression and the two sisters continued to walk to their classes. Maddie sighed and sat down, focusing on her work. Later that day, she felt much better and was starting to act like her normal self, but whenever she saw Nick; her face darkened, but in a few moments she lit up again, but mostly it was only because Chip kept on making her laugh.

Xander flashed Vida a look and Vida shrugged. Chip whispered something to Vida and then Vida said something to Xander. Maddie rolled her eyes. They were acting all suspicious again. She didn't really care about what they were planning, and she didn't want to know. Instead, she finished her work and then the bell rang. Chip and Vida had gone to see Transformers since they hadn't gotten to see it. Maddie walked home with Xander. "You know Nick is really sorry, right?" he asked Maddie. Surprised, Maddie nodded. "Yeah, I know," she sighed. "Then why won't you forgive him?" he inquired to her. She bit her lip. "Xander, I don't know… how to forgive him," she admitted. "I mean, that night, I felt really angry for some reason, but I don't know why. But still, he promised he'd be there and then…" she trailed off.

Maddie shrugged. "I don't know why I haven't forgiven him," she said honestly. Xander nodded. "You like him, don't you?" he said with a smile. "No!" she said. "Why would I like Nick?" she asked. Xander gave her a look. "You are always talking about him… and you got jealous when you saw him making out with Kuinn," he said.

Maddie's cheeks turned the reddest they could possibly ever turn. She shook her head. "Xander, honestly, I wasn't jealous and I don't like him," she said, trying to sound as firm and convincing as possible. But she didn't know of it was _really_ the god honest truth, but she'd rather find out later than now. Instead, the two friends walked down the blocks. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Maddie," Xander said when they came to his house. She smiled and waved goodbye to Xander and then continued to walk home by herself.

She suddenly sensed somebody walking behind her. "Nick, I'm not stupid," she said, turning around. Nick was standing there looking guilty. She shook her head and turned back around and continued walking. "Maddie, please, I'm sorry," he said. "Yeah, well sorry doesn't always cut it," she said, spinning around to face him. Then she turned back around again and started walking again. Nick caught up with her and he stepped in front of her and faced her, blocking her way. "Maddie, what will it take to prove to you that I'm sorry?" he asked. "I know you're sorry, but I don't think anything with make me be able to trust you or believe you again," said Maddie. Her tone wasn't harsh or angry. It was softer and when she talked, you could tell she was really hurt.

"Now move," she said. When she tried to go around him, he blocked her and wherever she moved he blocked her. "Maddie, please just let it go," he said. But as soon as he said the words, he wanted to snatch them back. "Let it go?" she said, her voice becoming angry. She opened her mouth to say more, but she didn't know what to say, so she clamped her jaws shut and pushed past him. He rolled his eyes with irritation. "Why are you so stubborn?" he asked angrily. "Why are you such a jerk?" she asked. He winced at what she said, but he then breathed an irritated sigh and walked off. _Enemies again… _he thought.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

At Rootcore, Udonna sensed the tension between Maddie and Nick. She breathed a sigh, for if the rangers were rivals, things would go wrong. Clare tried to reassure Udonna. "They'll make up. Soon this will all blow over," said Clare. Udonna was grateful for her apprentice's assurance, but she wasn't at all convinced. Just then, the rangers arrived at Rootcore.

She saw the anger between the blue and red ranger… Breathing a sigh, they began their training. They trained every day for many hours and they were all excelling in everything. Maddie sat down on the couch and got out her camera and started filming. Vida smiled when she saw Maddie coming over with her camera. "Hey, Maddie," Vida said with a laugh. Maddie smiled and turned around and came face to face with Nick. She lowered her camera and opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't know what to say. He looked around and she bit her lip. Udonna and Clare watched on.

Maddie then walked around him and went to go and put her camera away in her back pack. Udonna then saw something in her mystic crystal ball. "There is danger," she said to the rangers. Nick nodded and beckoned for the others to follow him. They raced out to the forest and saw Necroali and an evil and ugly looking dark monster.

"We meet again, rangers," said Necroali. Then, the monster attacked Nick, Xander and Chip while Necroali attacked Maddie and Vida. The rangers fought with everything they had. Maddie punched Necroali and the vampire queen fell, but Necroali tripped Maddie. Maddie landed on her feet and Vida grabbed Necroali. But then, Necroali twisted Vida's arm and had Maddie's sister trapped. "Vida!" screamed Maddie, about to run towards her sister, but Xander grabbed her arm. "Let me go!" she yelled, but Xander said, "No, Maddie, She'll get you too."

Just then, Necroali and the monster returned to the under world, taking Vida with them. Maddie struggled to get free and when she did, she ran to where Vida had disappeared with the underworld creatures. "Vida, no!" she screamed, sinking to her knees. Suddenly, Nick appeared by her side. "Maddie, I'm so sorry," he said. Chip put his hand on her shoulder and she felt tears come down her cheek. "No, they can't take her. We need to get her back!" she yelled and stood up, running back to Rootcore.

Clare was at Rootcore and she obviously knew what had happened to Vida, since she hugged Madison tightly. The others appeared at Rootcore a few moments later. "Clare, we need to get her back," she told Clare. "Clare, Xander's hurt!" said Chip. Clare looked from Xander to Maddie. Maddie walked over to Xander. He was hurt really bad. "What happened?" she asked. "He got hurt. If you were paying attention instead of worrying about yourself, you would have known that," snapped Nick. Maddie rolled her eyes. "That's enough you two," said Clare, sounding serious for once. Maddie nodded. "Right," she said, looking down, guilt showing in her eyes. Chip looked at Clare and then to Xander who was unconscious and leaning against Nick.

"Bring him over here," said Clare. They put him on a couch. "This is all going so wrong," moaned Maddie. Nick looked at her, but she didn't notice him. She took Xander's hand in hers and squeezed it. Nick walked up to Clare. "Maybe we should take turns watching him," he suggested. "Good idea," she murmured. "I'll take the first shift," Nick offered. "Udonna should be back soon, so when she comes back, I'll tell her what happened," he said. Clare nodded with a smile. "So, what's going on with you and Maddie?" she questioned. "I thought you two were friends now?" she said. Nick winced. "Well, we were, but I… well, let's just say I screwed up. But Maddie keeps on overreacting and being so stubborn and I'm getting sick of it," he said. "But I really do feel bad about what I did to her," he admitted. "And what did you do?" asked Clare.

"I-I promised I'd get some ice cream with her and she went, but I completely forgot and while she was walking home, she saw me… kind of making out with Kuinn," he said guiltily. Clare looked uneasy. "Well… I don't know what to say. I'm not really good with these kinds of situation," she said. "I'm sorry," she said. Nick shook his head. "It's okay," he told her.

When Udonna arrived, he explained what had happened to Xander. She then took care of him for the rest of the day. Three days passed and Xander still wasn't better. "Maddie, it's your turn to watch Xander," said Chip. Maddie nodded. Vida was still missing, and her parents thought that she was spending a week with her friends.

"Please, Xander, get better," she whispered. She sighed and looked around. Xander should be fine. She got up and left Rootcore and went out into the forest. She felt tears swell up in her eyes and she stumbled through the forest until she collapsed. The tears streamed down her cheeks and she buried her face in her hands. "Why can't things go right for once?" she said. She stood and went to go sit on a tree stump. She just sat there, for about two hours, just thinking… thinking about everything that had happened to her, her sister… Xander and everyone and everything. It was all so confusing and she couldn't stop thinking about, even how much she wanted to stop thinking about it.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Suddenly, she heard something in the bushes rustle. "Maddie? What the heck are you doing out here?" asked a voice. She turned around and saw Nick standing there. "Why did you leave, Maddie? I came back to Rootcore and I found Xander lying on the ground," he said angrily. "Is he okay?" she asked quickly. "Yeah, he's fine, no thanks to you," he snapped. She stood up. "Look, Nick I'm sorry," she said beginning to walk off. "Are you?" he asked challenging. She spun around, anger flashing in her eyes. "Yes, I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I'm not as perfect as you! I'm sorry that I'm not a leader, and I'm sorry that I'm not as good!" she yelled at him, coming towards him, making his back up against a rock wall. She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her arm. "Don't walk away from me," he said. "Let go of me!" she screamed, struggling to get free. "Maddie… I'm not going to hurt you, just stop," he said, trying to reassure her. She still struggled. "Let go, I can't… let go of me!" she yelled. He tried to calm her down, but she seamed so scared. She finally gave up trying to get away and Nick held her close and hugged her. "Maddie, what's wrong?" he asked. Maddie had started to cry now.

"Nick, everything's going wrong, I can't… I'm scared," she cried. He looked down at her and put his hands on her shoulders. "It's going to be okay," he told her. "I promise," he said. She looked up at him with scared eyes.

Nick looked at Madison. She looked so fragile and innocent. He could see the fear and sadness in her brown eyes. He didn't see the angry Madison any more, but a Madison he had never seen before. He saw the scared and unsure Madison. She suddenly reached up and wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him. He was completely surprised, but for some reason he kissed her back, and it wasn't because he was forced to, he actually wanted to…

Maddie didn't know why she had kissed Nick and she also didn't know how long it lasted, but when they broke apart, her cheeks flushed red. She looked totally confused, as if she wished the kiss had never happened. She began to back up, her brown eyes showing puzzlement and regret. Then she turned and ran away, leaving Nick standing there. "Maddie!" he called after her, but he didn't go after her.

Maddie stumbled back to Rootcore, and saw Chip with Xander. He was still asleep, and she wanted to see if he was okay, but Chip was probably angry too. Instead, she silently grabbed her bag and left. She walked to her house and went to her room. She felt so many emotions and mixed feelings. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Someone suddenly knocked on the door. "Come in," she said. Her dad stepped into the room and he gave Madison a concerned look. "Sweet-heart, are you okay? You haven't exactly, well… been yourself lately," he said, putting his hand on his daughter's shoulder. She nodded. "I'm okay, dad," she said. "I just had a rough day," she explained, which wasn't all exactly a lie.

Her father nodded understandingly. "Well, if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here for you, sweat-heart," he dad said. She smiled and hugged her dad. Suddenly, she felt so safe and loved. She smiled once more to her dad and then he left. Closing her eyes, she thought about the kiss. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, she kind of did enjoy it a little bit. She couldn't hide the smile that was creeping onto her face either.

The next day, Maddie felt kind of awkward being around Nick, but after about three days, they both got used to it, but they didn't usually say much to each other. By then, Xander was awake and recovering well. Maddie and Xander were trying out new spells when Nick came up to them. "Hey," he greeted them both. "What's up?" said Xander. Maddie forced a small smile and said, "Hey."

"I was wondering if you could come and help me find Clare. She's out in the woods and she contacted Udonna saying that she needs help with something somewhere. Udonna told me to take one of the rangers," he explained. Xander stood. "Well, you've come to the right ranger. Not only am I charming, but I'm strong too," he said proudly. "Actually, I was asking Madison," he said. Her eyes lit up. Finally some real adventure! "Sure, let me just get my things," she said, and ran over to a tree stump and grabbed her morpher and her bag with her camera in it. "Must you take that everywhere?" he asked with a laugh. "Yes, I do," she said with a smile.

For a while, they both didn't say anything to each other. "Do you think we'll get Vida back soon?" she asked out of no where. Nick looked at her and saw Maddie's eyes begin to fill with sadness. "Yeah, I really do," he said reassuringly. She looked at him and he looked at her. She knew they were both thinking of the kiss. She instantly looked away. Nick wondered what to say, and he looked down. He quickened his pace and Maddie was right behind him… until she saw something. Tilting her head to one side, puzzled, she walked over to the thing that she saw. Nick looked over his shoulder and stopped when he saw Madison bending down to pick up the thing. "It's a doll," she said. Nick had a bad feeling about this. "Wait, Maddie, no!" he yelled, but she was already about to pick it up. He ran over to her and tried to move her out of the way, but it was too late. When she picked up the doll, a small net had sprung up. They were caught in a net… not to mention the net was really small and the two rangers were squashed and it was hard to move.

Authors Note: For all of you readers that have seen or watched the T.V. show called Lost on abc, I'm sorry for using or copying some of the same or similar details from the episodes 'What Kate Did' and 'S.O.S'


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Sorry," Maddie said. "It's okay, let's just focus on trying to get down from here," he said. She looked down and realized she had dropped her morpher on the ground. "Great, I dropped my morpher. Do you have yours?" she asked him, her face one inch away from his. "Yeah, but I can't move my hand down to get it. It's in my back pocket," he said. There was a pause.

"Um, let me, then," she said and hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, making their faces come really close to each others, that their lips almost touched. She grabbed his morpher and pulled it out of his pocket. "Thanks," he said. She smiled weakly. "Okay, now give me the morpher," he said. "What for?" she asked. "That way I can shoot that rope over there," he said beckoning to a rope that was holding the net up in the air.

"Oh," she said excitedly, and put her hand through one of the holes in the net and prepared to shoot the rope that was holding them up in the air. "Hey!" protested Nick, trying to get his morpher back from her, but she didn't give it back to him.

She aimed at the rope and shot at it, but missed. "Darn it!" she spat with irritation. "Okay, now let me do it," said Nick. "Why, you going to waste more power?" she asked teasingly, giving it back to him. "Don't worry, well have a lot more power to kill each other with later," he said to her jokingly. She rolled her eyes with amusement. He aimed and shot. This time it made and the net came tumbling down from the air.

Maddie came crashing down on top of Nick. He looked at her and she looked at him. They both started laughing. "Nice shot," she said. She got off of him and they both stood up. She brushed off the dirt and leaves from her clothes and so did Nick. "Well, that was fun," he said jokingly. Maddie smiled at him, her big brown eyes gleaming with amusement and… contentment. Nick found himself just looking at her. She looked down at her feet and thought about the kiss. "Um, we should keep going," she said, walking past him and taking the lead. "Where did Udonna say Clare was?" she asked him. "She didn't say… all she said was that Clare needed help," he told her. She nodded. "How did she know?" she asked. "She said that someone from the forest told her that Clare needed help with something," he said. "Why?" he asked. Maddie shook her head. "Nothing… it's just that… well, maybe Clare is in danger somewhere," she suggested.

Nick looked at her. "Why would you suspect that?" he questioned. "I just have this feeling," she said. She was about to explain more about it, but she saw Nick giving her a look that told her he didn't really believe her or understand her. "Never mind, you wouldn't understand," she sighed. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, his voice becoming a bit challenging. "It doesn't mean anything," she said simply. He grabbed her hand. She froze and turned to him. He blushed and quickly let go of her hand. "Look, I just have a bad feeling about this, okay?" she said, and turned around to walk onward. "Maddie, wait," he said, catching up to her and standing in front her. He faced her and then said, "Maddie I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I guess what I'm saying is that I'm sorry for whenever I've hurt you or did anything mean to you. I mean I try to understand and stuff, but sometimes I don't know… I guess sometimes... I just-" he managed to say before she cut in off. "No Nick I'm sorry. I'm the one who's always so stubborn and always _hiding_ behind my camera," she told him with soft eyes and a sweet smile. He looked down at her and he smiled. "I guess we've both learned a lot of lessons from being enemies," he said with a small laugh. "I guess we have, but… I don't want to go back to being enemies," she said truthfully. "I want to be… friends… with you," she stammered. He liked the way that she sometimes stammered when she was nervous. She always seemed so closed when it came to guys she hadn't know for ever like she knew Chip and Xander.

He hoped that he could become a friend that would be close to her like Xander or Chip. She was about to say more, but then she didn't know what to say so she turned back around and started walking again, but this time, her steps matched Nick's. "Help!" someone said. Maddie and Nick recognized Clare's voice. "Clare!" yelled Nick. "Clare, where are you?" shouted Maddie. They heard Clare scream and Maddie gasped. They both ran towards her scream and they found one of the monsters pinning Clare down. "Hey, get away from her!" shouted Maddie angrily. They both powered up and fought the monster. Maddie felt something sharp pierce her side. She screamed and the monster threw her and she hit a tree. She quickly regained her balance and helped Nick fight the monster. The monster threw Maddie again, but this time, he motioned for Nick to come forward and fight him one on one.

"Nick, no!" she yelled. But Nick had already accepted. Suddenly, Nick said some magic words and he sent the monster flying. "It can't be, no one can defeat me!" yowled the monster with rage. The monster vanished and Nick ran back to Maddie and Clare. "Clare, are you okay?" he asked her. Maddie was holding Clare close to her. Blood oozed from gashes everywhere on her body. Clare suddenly began closing her eyes, and her breathing became shallow. "Clare, please…. Stay with us now," encouraged Maddie. She and Nick powered down and Nick noticed tears filling up in Maddie's eyes. "We need to save her," she said to Nick. He nodded and picked up Clare and took her to a cave. "You think she'll make it back to Rootcore?" he asked Madison. She shook her head. "She can't be moved that much, or else she'll lose a lot of blood," she explained. There was a flat table looking stone in the cave and he set her down on it. He remembered the first day they became power rangers and Maddie had passed out in his arms and he had set her down on the table in Rootcore. He looked at her and she looked so scared and helpless like she had back then, but he also saw furiosity and courage in her eyes.

She took her morpher out of her pocket and pointed it at Clare. The wounds stopped bleeding, but since they were really serious wounds, they would still need to be tended to every now and then. Maddie remembered she had her bag with her and she pulled out her jacket and gave it to Nick. "Go soak it in the river and bring it back here," she told him. Nick took her jacket and ran down to the river. Maddie looked down at Clare and stroked her friends blond hair. "We'll save you, Clare. I promise," she vowed

Nick came back from the river and saw Madison with Clare. Maddie looked so gentle and sweet. She was so patient and she knew exactly what to do. He admired her for that. He just realized then how pretty she really looked, but he convinced himself that she was pretty to him as a friend. The memory of her standing there watching him kiss Kuinn shot back into his mind. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He still felt guilty about that… and yet he was starting to become great friends with a girl he thought would be his enemy forever. He slowly walked into the cave and handed Madison the jacket. She smiled to him thankfully and began to clean the cuts on Clare's face. He waited outside the cave until Maddie came out. "What now?" he asked. "Now we wait," she said, sitting down by a fire that Nick had made.

Night fell upon the sky quickly. The two just sat there, thinking and wondering about many things. Maddie looked at Nick out from the corner of her eye and then looked away. The only sound they could hear was a cricket whistling in the night. Maddie bit her lip. "Nick, I'm sorry I kissed you," she said. He looked at her. She was looking away. There was a long pause. "I'm not," he finally said. She looked at him. They both leaned in to kiss, but then stopped when they heard something in the bushes… Maddie and Nick both stood and waited for whatever it was out there to reveal itself. Then it sprung out from the bushes. It was Vida…


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Maddie's eyes brightened. "Vida!" she exclaimed and hugged her sister tightly. "Hey, guys," she said tiredly. "Vida, what in the world were you doing out there?" Nick inquired. "What happened? What did they do to you?" asked Maddie. "What is this, twenty questions?" laughed Vida. "I'm fine, really," she said. "How did you find us?" asked Nick. "Well, when I was walking, I heard voices and I followed them here," she explained. Madison wondered if she heard what she had said to Nick and she knew Nick was wondering the same thing, but it seemed like Vida knew nothing about what they had been talking about.

"How did you escape?" asked Maddie. "This one guy name Koragg allowed me to escape because he thought the way I was captured was not with honor," she said, her eyes showing that was really confused about that. Maddie tilted her head to one side. "What did the others do to you?" Nick asked. "They tried to get information out of me… and all they wanted to know about was you, Nick," she said hoarsely to Nick. Maddie turned her gaze to her Nick and stared at him worriedly. Nick looked surprised and then saw Maddie from the corner of his eyes staring at him with complete worry. He looked to Vida. "Why?" he asked. "I don't know," replied Vida. "D-did you tell them anything?" asked Maddie hesitantly. "No, of course not! I wouldn't bale on one of my friends," Vida said. "But I did tell them that us power rangers would defeat him and that they'd be destroyed forever," she said. Maddie smiled. She admired her sister for being able to stand up to people, or creatures/monsters and wasn't afraid to stand up for what was right.

"Why are you guys out here?" asked Vida. Maddie instantly remembered what had happened earlier that day. "Some one kidnapped Clare and she has really bad wounds," explained Maddie, her face darkening. Vida's eyes grew from curiosity to worry. "Is she okay?" Vida questioned. Maddie nodded. "We need to move her in the morning, though. She wasn't well enough to move her earlier today," Maddie said. "But why are you two, of all the rangers, why are the two of you out here. I thought you guys hated each other again," she said in puzzlement. Nick opened his mouth to speak and Maddie prayed to god that he wasn't going to tell her sister that she had kissed him.

"Well, we just… kind of got used to each other being around and we broke the feud," he said. Vida looked from Maddie to Nick. She felt convinced and said, "Well, as long as the fight's over." Maddie shot Nick a grateful glance and then heard something from the cave. It was Clare. She had woken and was stumbling out of the cave. Vida, Nick and Maddie rushed to help her. "Vida, y-you're back," Clare said happily. "Yeah, but we need you to rest, okay," she said. Maddie nodded. "Yes, Clare. You're very weak, so you'll need rest. In the morning we'll take you back to Rootcore," she told the sorceress in training. Clare nodded and when she had fallen asleep, the three rangers walked back outside. "So, what did I miss?" Vida asked. "Well, nothing really. We've just been doing the usual and protecting Briarwood," said Nick. _She missed me kiss Nick, that's something unusual, _thought Maddie. She looked at the ground, not paying attention to the things around her. "Maddie, you okay?" Vida asked. She didn't answer. "Hello… earth to Maddie," said Vida. "What?" she asked. "Oh, right, um, yeah, I don't think you missed a lot," she said.

The three rangers slept around the warm fire. Morning came quickly and the rangers woke early. Clare was already awake and was looking much better. "Are you feeling okay?" Maddie asked Clare. "Yeah, I'm feeling great," said Clare with a bright attitude. Nick smiled. "That's good. But are you well enough to travel?" he asked. Clare nodded. "Of course," she said. Vida shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Looks like she's well enough," said Vida with a laugh. The four teens began their journey home. "Do you think it'll take long?" asked. "Well, it didn't take long for us to get here," said Maddie. "Well, except for the part when we got caught in a net," muttered Nick. Maddie giggled, but she thought she was the only one that heard him because no one else laughed except Nick. Vida looked at them both with suspicion. Maddie rolled her eyes at her protective sister. Vida gave her sister a look that told her that she needed to be careful.

Maddie looked up at the sky and saw the clouds darken and come together. Suddenly, it began to rain. "Great," muttered Vida. Maddie closed her eyes and smiled. She loved the rain and she let it soak her, her face to the sky, her eyes closed and a bright smile on her face. Vida and Clare ran off to hide under a huge tree with thick leaves so they wouldn't get wet. Maddie just stood there. Nick looked at her and smiled. She obviously loved the rain. Then he shook his head and said, "Maddie, come on!" Maddie opened her eyes and looked at him and saw Clare and Vida hiding under a tree. She looked up at the sky and then back to Nick. He held out his hand and she took it. They ran under the tree with the others. Nick realized he was still holding Maddie's hand and he saw her looking at him. He let go and was thankful that Vida hadn't seen them. They waited there for thirty minuets and then the rain stopped. "Thank goodness," said Clare. Maddie shrugged. "I like the rain," she said. "Obviously," laughed Nick. She punched him playfully. Vida laughed. "Ever since you were little, you've loved the rain," Vida said. Maddie smiled. "I love all the elements," said Clare. "I not big on rain," said Nick honestly. "And that's because you're the red ranger and you like fire," said Maddie, bumping him in the shoulder playfully.

"I guess we got our positions and colors based on who we are," said Vida. "You're right," said Maddie. "Oh, no!" gasped Clare who was ahead of them all. "What's wrong, Clare?" asked Maddie, running up to see what Clare saw. It was the river. It was flowing fast and was overflowing. Just then, Maddie slipped. She screamed and tumbled down the slope and fell into the water. "Madison!" shouted Clare. "Maddie, no!" screamed Vida, coming to the slope. The water a rushing fast and Maddie couldn't be seen. After a minuet, Nick saw her body, but she wasn't moving and she was bleeding on her forehead. "There she is," he said. Vida was going to jump in after her sister, but Nick pulled Vida's arm. "I'll go," he said. "But she's my sister," protested Vida. "But I'm stronger, and besides, the same thing can happen to you, so I'll go," he said and carefully but quickly walked down the slope. He jumped into the water and he swam towards Maddie, but he went under. He opened his eyes under water and swam beneath the waves towards the figure of Maddie. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her. Nick came out from under the water and he saw blood coming from a large gash on her forehead. "Nick," she murmured. "I'm right here, Maddie. You're going to be fine," he promised. He swam towards the shore, but by now, Maddie had gone limp and she didn't look like she was breathing.

He pulled them both onto shore and Vida and Clare appeared by him. Clare felt her pulse and then said, "She's not breathing." Vida shook her sister by the shoulders. Vida gave her sister CPR, but it didn't work. Clare began cleaning the wound on Maddie's head. "Do any of you know how to do mouth to mouth?" asked Clare. Vida shook her head. Nick didn't answer all at once, but after a few moments, he slowly nodded. "Okay, do mouth to mouth to her," instructed Clare. Nick began stammering. "I-I don't r-remember it that well," he stammered. "Nick, please. Maddie's going to die if you don't do it," said Vida. For once, Vida looked scared and sad. Nick nodded and he tilted Maddie head back a little and put his lips on hers and began breathing air into her. He did that three times. On the fourth time, he stopped and looked at Clare who looked at Vida. Suddenly, Maddie began coughing. Vida smiled and said, "Maddie, thank goodness you're alive." Clare smiled and Maddie sat up, still coughing. She winced when she felt the sting on her forehead and touched her head gingerly. "You okay?" asked Nick, looking at her worriedly. "Yeah, I'm fine. All I remember is falling and hitting my head real hard, and then everything went black," she said, confusion clouding her big brown eyes. "Nick saved your life," said Clare. She looked at Nick with soft eyes and she smiled. "Thanks," she said. Something else was in her eyes, but Nick couldn't tell what it was. Vida wrapped her arms around her sister and hugged her tightly. Maddie hugged her sister back and Clare joined in.

They arrived at Rootcore twenty minuets later and Udonna was so glad to have each of them back. "Vida, your back!" exclaimed Udonna. "Oh and Clare, thank goodness you're okay. Madison, what happened?" she said. "She fell into the river. It's overflowed and Nick saved her," said Clare. Udonna looked at Nick with gratitude in her eyes. "You have saved one of the great rangers, Nick. And by doing that, Madison is alive, and also, Briarwood is safe too," said Udonna. Nick shrugged. The two other rangers, Chip and Xander came in and saw Vida and they began exclaiming excitedly. Udonna and Clare joined in and they left the room. It was just Maddie and Nick. Maddie touched her cut on her forehead and winced. Nick looked at her. "Are you sure you're okay?" asked Nick. "I'm better than okay, thanks to you," she said with a smile. She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered. He hugged her back gently and he felt something he had never felt before, but he didn't know what it was, although it was a great feeling.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The next day, after training, they all met back at the Rock Porium. Kuinn was there too… and she was flirting with Nick, which wasn't a big surprise. Maddie knew that he really did like her. She was pretty, funny, and she was nice too, well… at least to all the popular kids. She was never nice to Maddie, but she was only mean to Maddie when Nick wasn't around. Maddie just watched the two talk, flirt and smile. She tried to feel happy for Nick, but she just didn't like Kuinn, but to him, she was an angel.

She saw Nick and Kuinn lean in to kiss. When their lips met, she remembered when she herself had kissed Nick. What had she been thinking? Nick had a girlfriend, and besides, she didn't even like Nick, or so she trying to keep convincing herself she didn't, but the truth was, she didn't really know of she felt for Nick as a friend or something more. But she kept convincing herself he was just her friend. She watched Nick and Kuinn kiss, and finally she grabbed some CDs and walked over to them. She stepped in between them, making the break apart. She gave the CDs to Nick. "We have to get back to work," she said seriously. Kuinn put her hands on her hips and gave Nick a sad look. Then she looked and Madison. "It's no wonder why you don't have a boyfriend," said Kuinn. Maddie opened her mouth to object, but she didn't know what to say. She looked at Nick, who was looking uneasily at the floor. Maddie knew he probably didn't want to get involved, for if he did, he'd either lose his girlfriend or his friend. She just shook her head and stalked away.

Vida came up to her. "How can Nick like such a snob?" snapped Vida angrily. Maddie shrugged her shoulders. "Well, can you really blame him? She's…" Maddie stumbled for the right words. "Perfect," she said. "She's beautiful, smart, and what not," said Maddie. Vida shook her head. "I can't believe you're saying this," spat Vida. "You're pretty and smart too," said Vida. "If you ask me, Nick would be better of with someone like you," said Vida. Maddie smiled. But she shook her head. "Look at them, though. They look so content with one another. They belong together," sighed Maddie. Vida looked at Maddie. She was looking at Nick and Kuinn with sadness in her eyes. Nick caught Madison's eyes and she quickly looked away. Vida smiled softly and put a hand on her sister's shoulder for comfort and then after a few moments, she left.

Later that day, still at the Rock Porium, Nick came up to Maddie. "Hey," he said brightly. She smiled. "Hi," she said. "Do you think you could cover for me while I take Kuinn home?" he asked. Maddie's smile disappeared. "We're supposed to be working," she said. "I-I know, but…" he trailed off. "I'm going to take her out tonight," he admitted. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Nick, we're supposed to be working tonight, not flirting away," she said with irritation, and pushed past him to go put some CDs away. He followed her. "Are you… jealous?" he asked teasingly. "Jealous? No!" she said angrily. "Why would I be jealous?" she snapped. Nick looked at her. "Maddie, please," he pleaded. She sighed and turned around to face him. She crossed her arms over her chest and forced a smile. "Sure," she said. "But on one condition," she added before he could walk away. He glared at Maddie playfully and she smiled. "You have to cover for me when I need you to," she said. He sighed. "Deal," he said and they shook hands.

Kuinn then came up and kissed Nick on the lips. "Are we going to go, or is Madison here going to not let you," she said, glaring at Madison. "For your information, I said I'd cover for Nick," she snapped. Kuinn smiled. "Good," she said and they left. "God I hate her," Maddie muttered. _Neither of them even said thank you, _she thought. She shook her head and continued to work.

That night, Maddie walked through the park. Few people were there, but the people who _were_ there, were playing with their dogs. One dog came running up to Maddie. She knelt down and petted he dog. "Hi, there," she said softly, and began stroking the dog's golden colored fur. She could tell the dog was a golden retriever. "Hey, what are you doing here?" asked a familiar voice. Maddie looked up to see Kuinn standing there. "Is this your dog?" she asked Kuinn with a smile. "Yeah," she said. "He's so cute. What's his name?" asked Maddie. "Why are you here?" asked Kuinn. Maddie's smiled vanished. "I was just out for a walk," she said, trying to keep her voice level. "Yeah, right," muttered Kuinn. "Where's Nick?" asked Maddie. "Oh, he's over there waiting for me, so I'd better go. Oh, but before I leave, Nick wanted me to tell you something," she said. Maddie listened to what Kuinn was about to say. "He says that he knows you have a crush on him, and that he doesn't like being around you because you're such a shy know it all and you embarrass him. He says he wants to forget about you… oh, and that you're not important to him, so just stop trying to be friends with him, because you never will," Kuinn said. Kuinn didn't say this in her snobby tone, but in a serious and dark tone.

Maddie felt tears swell inside her eyes. "You want to me to continue?" asked Kuinn. Maddie shook her head. "Well, I'm really sorry about all this, but… it's true," said Kuinn and then shrugged her shoulders with a smile. "So, bye," she said, but just then, Nick came up to them. He saw Maddie crying and he said, "Maddie, what are you doing here? What's wrong?" She just shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm leaving," she said. She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her arm. "Maddie, tell me what's wrong," he said. "I'm fine; just enjoy your night with Kuinn. I-I'm happy for two," she said and walked away. "Maddie, wait!" he called after her, but she kept on walking.

He turned back to Kuinn. "What did you say to her?" he asked. "Nothing," she said. "I just told her the truth," explained Kuinn. "And what _is_ the truth?" asked Nick. "Oh, that she's just an embarrassment and that you're too good for her and that… she just needs to stay away from you. Also, that we think she's too shy and that she's a know it all and that you know she has a crush on you," Kuinn said. Nick froze. Maddie had a crush on him? He shook his head. "Why did you tell her that?" asked Nick angrily. "Because it's the truth," Kuinn said. "No it's not. Maddie's my friend," he said. "Yeah, well you have me, now, so forget about her," she said, taking Nick's hand. He pulled his hand back. "No, I won't forget about her. She's one of my best friends, and I'm not going to let someone hurt her like that. We're over," he said to Kuinn. Kuinn's mouth opened in surprise. "Are you breaking up with me?" she asked. Nick looked down at Kuinn. "Yeah," he said. "That's not fair! No one breaks up with me," she spat angrily. "Sorry, Kuinn. I just did," he said and left her standing there.

Maddie walked back to Rootcore and sat down on the stair steps. No one else was there except Clare and Chip, who were talking in a different room. She was alone. She heard her cell phone ring and she looked to see who it was. It was Nick. She was just about to answer, but then didn't. Chip left and then Clare came out. "Madison, are you okay?" she asked. Maddie nodded. "Yeah, I… um, yes, I'm… good," she stammered. Clare sat down beside Maddie. "Is this about Nick?" she asked. Maddie looked at Clare, surprised. "How did you-" she broke off as Clare said, "Back in the forest, I kind of heard what you were saying right before Vida came out of the bushes," she admitted. Maddie's cheeks turned red. "You did?" she asked. Clare nodded. Maddie moaned inwardly. "So… you kissed Nick?" asked Clare. "Yes," said Maddie. "I only did it because Vida was missing, Xander was hurt, and I was in a feud with Nick… and everything was going wrong, and when he came into the forest, he comforted me and I just… kissed him," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "You like him, don't you?" asked Clare. Maddie thought about everything they had been through together and how they both had reacted to everything that had happened. She nodded. "I do," she said quietly, looking down at her hands.

"But he's in love with Kuinn, and according to her, I'm an embarrassment to him," she told Clare. "And you believe her?" asked Clare. "Come on, Maddie, you're smarted than that," said Clare. "I don't know what to believe anymore," she admitted, breathing a sigh. "And I don't know what to feel either," she said sadly. "Just feel what your heart tells you to feel," said Clare. With that, the sorceress apprentice stood and began to walk away. "Hey, Clare," called Maddie. Clare turned around. "Thanks," said Maddie. Clare smiled and walked away.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The next day, Nick came up to Madison. "Maddie, can I talk to you?" he asked her. "I need to tell you something," he said. "And here it is. I know what it's like to carry a lope with your friend, so it's okay. I mean, who are we trying to kit? You have the populars and I have… the non-populars," she said. "You have your group and I have mine, it's where we belong. And I'm sorry if I… did anything to-" she broke off as he interrupted. "Maddie, Kuinn didn't mean that stuff," he said. "Yes she did. And she's right. I am just an embarrassment, and I'm really sorry," she said. "Kuinn obviously doesn't like us hanging out together, so I'm just going to leave," she said and left before Nick could say anything.

Nick stood there, rooted to the ground. How was he going to tell her that he and Kuinn were over and that he wanted to still be her friend? But he couldn't help thinking about when she said that Kuinn was right. Kuinn had said Maddie had a crush on him. Had Kuinn been right about that? He shook his head. This was Maddie he was thinking about, not some girl like Kuinn or Leelee.

That night, Nick went over to Madison's house. He knocked on the door. Madison's mother opened the door. "Hello, Mrs. Rocca. I'm Nick, um, and I was wondering if Madison was home," he said. Mrs. Rocca smiled and looked up the stairs. Maddie was there and shook her head, signaling that she didn't want to talk to him right now. Nick couldn't see Maddie there. Mrs. Rocca turned back to Nick. "Um, she's busy with homework right now, Nick. But I can tell her you stopped by," she told him. He nodded. "Thanks," he said. "Oh, and can you tell her that I'm sorry," he said. Mrs. Rocca smiled softly. "I will," she said. Nick nodded his thanks and turned around to walk away. Mrs. Rocca gently closed the door.

"I don't see why you don't want to talk to him," said Maddie's mom. Maddie didn't say anything and walked back to her room and looked out the door to the patio beside her bed. She sighed. She wondered if Nick really did know that she had a crush on him. She bit her lip and she continued on doing her homework. She finished two minuets later and went to stand by the door to the patio. She looked at the picture on the wall and gingerly touched the frame. It was a picture of her and her sister with Xander and Chip. She smiled and felt like someone was missing from the picture. She shook her head, but still looked at the picture.

She then thought about all the things that had happened since Nick had moved to Briarwood. She had hated him only because he teased her about hiding behind her camera, but it was true. She felt uneasy, but then thought to herself. Had she liked Nick all along? Shrugging her shoulders, she walked back to her bed and sat down and thought some more. She just sat there… staring into nothingness, thinking…

Nick snuck into the backyard of the Rocca house. He looked up to see Maddie standing by the patio and touching a picture gently. Then she walked away. He thought about what he was going to say and then called her on her cell phone. He saw Madison walk up to the dresser and hesitantly answer the phone. "Hello?" she said. "Maddie, listen to me, what Kuinn said the other night. It wasn't true. She only said those things because she didn't want us to be friends," he said, climbing up the vines that lead up the wall to Maddie's bedroom.

"She sounded pretty convincing to me," said Maddie. "But they weren't true, I swear," he said to her. "You're my friend, Maddie, and I wouldn't talk about you behind you back. Besides, there's nothing bad to say about you," he said with a laugh. She sighed. "But Nick, what if Kuinn gets mad at you?" she asked. "That won't happen," he assured her. "How do you know?" she questioned. "Because I broke up with her," he said. "You did!" Maddie exclaimed. She then caught herself and then said, "Um, I mean… you did?" she asked in a serious voice instead of an excited voice. But she was smiling brightly. "Yeah," he said. "Now turn around. I have a… surprise for you," he said. She looked confused, but did as he said and slowly turned around. Her eyes grew soft and she smiled gently when she saw him. She opened the doors and stepped out to meet him, clicking the 'end call' button on her cell phone. "Surprise," he said. She smiled and she couldn't stop the small tears swelling in her eyes. Nick saw them, but she didn't let them come down her cheeks. Instead, they just made her pretty brown eyes shine.

The two leaned against the white wall of the patio and looked out at the stars. "It's a beautiful night, huh?" he asked. She nodded and looked at him through the corner of her eye. He noticed it and she instantly turned away. The two just stood there and admired the night. Finally, Maddie spoke. "I used to go out to the meadow with my dad when I was little, and we would just lay there and look at the stars," she said to Nick. He smiled. "I did that once, but I didn't do it often, though," he said. Their shoulders touched and Maddie and Nick looked at each other, and then away from each other, but they didn't break the touch of their shoulders. Maddie rested her head on Nick's shoulder and neither of them objected. Nick just turned a bit pink and so did Maddie.

Maddie then lifted her head and turned around and looked at the clock inside her room. Nick noticed the time and then said, "I'd better go." Maddie looked at him. "I wish you could stay," she said shyly, looking down. He smiled and put his hand on her cheek and looked at her. Maddie froze, but didn't protest when his hand touched her cheek. He then took his hand from her cheek and left. She touched her cheek in the spot where he had touched it. She smiled and went back inside her room.

The next day she saw Kuinn with some guy. He was one of the populars, Maddie was sure of it. Nick came up to Madison. "You sure you're not jealous?" she asked him teasingly, nudging him when she saw him staring at Kuinn. "I just can't believe that she did that to you. She's usually so nice and sweet," he murmured. "I can't believe I was so stupid," he said. "You weren't stupid. You didn't know… and besides, she's nice to everyone except the girls that aren't afraid of her," she said. "You're not intimidated by her?" asked Nick. Madison shook her head. "No," she said simply. Nick rolled his eyes with a smile. "Anyways, what are you doing after school?" he asked hesitantly. Maddie looked at him and said, "Actually, I promised I'd spend the day with my mother, this evening," she said. "Why?" she asked curiously. "Oh, um… I just, wanted to know," he said. She forced a friendly smile and they walked to the cafeteria. "Hey, Nick. Come sit over here," called one of his friends. Nick looked at Madison who was looking down with an uneasy expression. "I think I'm going to sit over there, so… um, see you later," she said with a disappointed, but understanding face, which showed him that she was okay and that she didn't mind, she smiled at him. He wanted to go after her, but she was already heading towards a table where her sister and Chip were sitting. Xander was sitting there too, but he came over to sit with Nick.

"Heard you broke up with Kuinn," he said. Nick nodded. "Did she dump you, or did you dump her?" he asked. "I dumped her," he said. Xander looked puzzled. "Why?" asked Xander. "She was a snob. She treated Madison badly and was a liar," he said simply. Xander and Nick both began to laugh. "So how did she take it?" asked Xander. "Not well, that's for sure," he said with a laugh. "Why did you break up with her just because she treated Maddie badly?" inquired Xander suspiciously. "Because she's my friend, why else?" he asked, looking puzzled.

Xander noticed how puzzled he looked and was a little bit convinced that he didn't like Madison, but he was sure that Nick had _some_ feelings for Madison. Nick looked over at Kuinn who was kissing her new boyfriend. Nick felt a pang of jealousy, but then caught Madison's eye. She quickly turned away and he wondered if what Kuinn had said about Maddie liking him was true. _No, she said so herself that she only wanted to be friends, and besides, nobody would ever expect it since we used to be complete enemies, _he thought to himself. _Anyways, I don't think I feel for Maddie that way, well, at least I don't think, _he thought, an uneasy look coming onto his face. Xander noticed and asked, "You alright, Nick?" Nick nodded. "Yeah," he said and continued to think.

After lunch, Nick met up with Vida. "Hey, Nick, where's Maddie?" she asked. "I don't know. Why?" he asked. "Oh, I need to talk to her. I need some help in History. I wasn't paying attention during class, but keep that on the down low," she whispered to him. "Anyways, I thought she was with you," said Vida. "Why?" he asked. "Well, she always hangs out with you, doesn't she?" ashes Vida. Nick thought for a moment. "Yeah, sometimes," he finally said, realizing they did spend a lot of time together. Vida left and he walked over to his motorcycle after school. Maddie came up to him. "Hey, Nick," she said, greeting him with a warm smile. "Hey," he said. "So, I saw you eyeing Kuinn at lunch," she told him. He looked down. "You still have feelings for her, don't you?" she asked. He sighed. "I don't know _what_ to feel, anymore," he said. She nodded. "I know what you mean," she murmured, but then realized what she said and then said quickly, "Are you going to talk to her?" Nick shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know… maybe, maybe not," he said. She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't know what to say. "Your sister was looking for you," he told her. She nodded. "Thanks," she said. "Well… um, I'd better go," she said and walked away. He watched her go and smiled, and then put his helmet on and rode home.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Maddie walked home with Vida and helped explain the lesson in History that Vida hadn't paid attention to. "So, how's it been going between you and Nick?" asked Vida. Madison looked at her sister. "Good, why?" she asked. "Oh, I don't know. You two have been spending a lot of time together," said Vida. 'We're just friends. You know that right?" she said to Vida. Vida gave her sister an unbelieving look. "Maddie, I know you like him," she said. Maddie glared at her sister. "I am _not _in love with Nick…" she trailed off when she saw her sister give her a look of disbelief. "Is it that obvious?" asked Maddie. "So you admit it!" exclaimed Vida. Maddie nodded slowly, her cheeks turning a pinkish reddish color. Vida smiled brightly. "Vida, please don't tell anyone, please…" begged Maddie. "Don't worry, Maddie, your secret is safe with me," said Vida. "Does anyone else know?" asked Vida. "Only Clare," said Madison. "You told Clare of all people… and before your own sister!" said Vida. "I'm sorry, V. I just didn't know what to say after she found out that I…" she trailed off as she almost told Vida her biggest secret.

"She found out you did what?" asked Vida. "Nothing," said Maddie. "I'm not stupid, Madison. What happened?" she asked, both excited and suspicious at the exact same time. "I… um," she stammered. "Come on, sis, you can tell me," encouraged Vida. "I… I kissed him," she said. "You kissed who?" asked Vida. Maddie knew that Vida knew who she was talking about, but she just wanted to hear it again. "I kissed… Nick," she said. Vida grew an excited expression on her face. "You did! When?" she asked. "Three days after you were taken," said Maddie.

Vida smiled. "Did he kiss you back?" asked Vida. Maddie couldn't hide the smile that appeared on her face. She nodded slowly. "He did? That's great!" exclaimed Vida. Maddie winced. "Wait, if he kissed you back, then why aren't you two together?" asked Vida. "He was still with Kuinn and he still liked her, and I think he still likes her now," she said. Vida sighed. "Sis, why don't you just ask him to go out with you or something?" suggested Vida. "You're giving the wrong advice to the wrong person. You know how shy I am," she said. "Well, how about I help?" offered Vida. "No, Vida! I don't want you to do anything. We're just friends, and I think we're better off as friends," she said to her sister. Vida looked disappointed. "Alright, fine," said Vida.

Maddie walked up to Nick who was working on his motorcycle by the tree by the Rock Porium the next day. "Hey, Nick," she said with a friendly smile. He smiled and said, "Hey, Maddie. What's up?" Maddie shrugged her shoulders, but Nick knew that something was going on with her. "What's wrong?" he asked, standing up. She shook her head, but didn't say anything. "Maddie, come on, something's wrong. You can tell me," he said. She looked at him with her shy and pretty brown eyes. "Well… I-I, um," she stammered. "I don't know what's wrong, actually. I just… well, I've been having these mixed emotions and I just haven't been feeling myself lately," she admitted, looking away. Nick wondered what her mixed emotions were. There was a long pause. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," she said, but then Nick said, "No, it's okay, really. It feels good to know a friend can come to you when they need you," he said. She smiled sweetly, her cheeks turning slightly pink. She looked down, trying to not let Nick see that she was blushing, but Nick saw it. In her mind, Madison thought, _I wish I could tell him how I feel._

"What are you having mixed emotions about?" he asked. She was afraid he'd ask her that. She hesitated, but then spoke. "I just don't know what to feel anymore. And I also don't know if what I feel is real," she said. "Are you saying that you… like someone?" he asked her, looking hesitant. She became silent. "I don't know," she finally said, not looking at him. She then looked at him with eyes that showed him that she didn't know what was going on and that she was scared and sad. He stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder. She gently wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. He hugged her back and he felt her relax in his arms. It felt good… to hold Madison. _Wait a second, stop thinking like that. Maddie's just a friend, _he thought to himself.

Madison jerked back suddenly. Nick was startled. She had pulled back so quickly and roughly. "What's wrong?" he asked her. "I'm sorry, Nick… I got to go," she said and turned around and ran away. Nick wondered what had gotten into her. He thought about going after her, but he decided to stay put. She obviously needed to be alone for now. For the rest of day, he couldn't stop thinking about Madison. What if she was in trouble? What if she needed someone to comfort her? She probably had Vida there with her, though. He tried to feel better after he thought about Madison being with Vida, but he still felt uneasy.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Maddie had felt the greatest feeling she had ever felt when Nick was hugging her. She then thought… It was so confusing. She just didn't know what to feel… think… believe. She couldn't stand being in his arms and not letting him know how she felt, she had left.

She suddenly felt like someone was following her. Maddie spun around to see that no one was following her. She kept walking, but she couldn't help but feel that scary presence of someone stalking her. Twice more times, she looked behind her, but didn't see anyone. Just then, something grabbed her, putting a cloth soaked with a chemical that made people pass out over her mouth. Her eye sight began to go blurry and she then passed out. The last thing she was a Necroali and two monsters looking down at her with pure evilness and darkness in their shadowy eyes.

Nick suddenly felt his head throb in pain. He shouted in pain, but no one was around to hear him. Then, a dark eerie voice whispered something in his ear. _"We've got your friend; red ranger…"_ said the voice. _"Meet us in the forest or the blue ranger will join the dead. And I'm sure you wouldn't want to see this girl die," _whispered the voice. The pain then disappeared. "They've got Maddie," he told himself. He felt a surge of guilt. He knew something was wrong. If only he'd gone after her…

He shook his head and called the other rangers and explained to them what had happened to Maddie. "Poor Maddie. It seems like she's always the one getting hurt," said Xander. "I know. But we need to get her back," said Chip. "If they hurt her, I swear… I'll rearrange their limbs," Vida spat, her eyes shinning with courage and rage at the same time. Nick nodded. "They probably only want to meet with me, so I'll go and you guys hide," he began. "When they release Maddie, they'll say they want to fight, and when Maddie is safe from them, then I'll signal for you to come out from your hiding spots and we'll fight them together," Nick said. The others agreed and they left for the forest.

Nick told the rangers where to hide. When they were well hidden, he met with the two monsters and Necroali. "Where's Madison?" he asked them. "You mean the blue ranger? She's right here," said Necroali evilly. The monsters threw a passed out Madison on the floor. "Maddie!" Nick yelled. "If you want her, you will have to fight us," said Necroali. "Give Madison back first," said Nick. "Alright, but only because there's one of you and three of us," said Necroali, and with a snap of her fingers, Madison floated over to Nick. She fell to the floor and he knelt down beside her. "Maddie, wake up," he whispered. She stirred a bit, and he felt a rush of relief. "Now fight!" shouted one the monsters. Nick then made the signal for the other rangers to come out. Necroali gasped. "Where did you come from?" she asked the other three rangers. "You never said to come alone," retorted Nick. "You'll pay for what you did to Madison!" yelled Vida angrily. They began fighting. The monsters fought with Xander, Vida and Chip while Necroali fought with Nick.

Nick used his magi staff and Necroali went flying. She flew into the monsters and they too fell. Before the rangers could finish them off, they vanished, saying, "We'll be back, rangers!" before they left back to underworld. "Good riddance," muttered Vida. Xander nodded in agreement and Chip gave Nick a high five. Nick then walked over to where Madison lay. He picked her up and carried her to Rootcore with the others. "Oh my goodness, what has happened?" asked Udonna when she saw Madison laying unconscious in Nick's arms. "I don't know," said Nick. "Necroali captured her and did something to her," Xander said angrily. Udonna told Clare to create a special potion and when Clare was finished, she gave it to Udonna. Udonna dripped a little bit of the potion on Maddie's lips and she began to stir. Suddenly, Madison's eyes opened and she sat up quickly, fear flashing in her eyes. "Whoa, it's okay, Maddie. You're in Rootcore," said Chip soothingly. "You're okay Madison. Just relax," said Xander.

Maddie soon realized where she was and looked around. "What happened?" she asked. Vida hugged her sister tightly and explained what had happened. "Why am I always the one who has to get saved?" she muttered with irritation. Nick felt a pang of sympathy for Maddie. "You're not always the one to get saved. You're a great ranger and the team would be nothing without you," said Nick, putting a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him and Vida got an excited and mischievous glint in her eyes. Maddie gave her a warning stare and Vida gave a look of disappointment.

That night, Maddie walked out of the Rock Porium, ready to go home. She looked across the street and saw Nick working on his bike. He had an irritated look on his face. "Having some trouble?" she asked him, walking across the street to meet him. He nodded, not looking at her. "I can't get it start," he said. She knelt down beside him and looked at the bike and began working on it. He just watched her. She caught his eyes and said, "What?" Nick shook his head. "Do you know anything about motorcycles?" he asked. Maddie nodded slowly. When I was little, I used to go to my uncle's house and he had dirt bikes and he let me ride them let me help him fix them," she told him. "Only Vida knows that," she whispered to him. "Why is it a secret?" he asked. She shrugged. "I've just never told anyone that," she said. He nodded. When she finished adjusting a certain piece of the bike, she tried starting it and it started! "How did you do that?" he asked in amazement. She just smiled and they both laughed. She showed him how she fixed it. They both reached for the same part of the motorcycle and their hands touched. Maddie drew her hand back quickly and so did Nick. This reminded Maddie of the night when they had gone to the movies… which was about two months ago.

Nick's cheeks turned red and he looked down. He looked up to see Madison looking down at the ground, a small smile on her face and was blushing. He then asked, "You want to go get some ice cream?" She looked up at him. She remembered the last time that he had asked her that. He had stood her up and she found him making out with Kuinn. She winced. He saw her expression and knew that she probably was remembering the last time he had asked her to get ice cream with him. "Maddie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" he broke off when she shook her head and smiled. "It's okay. Yeah, I'd like that," she said to him. He smiled and they both began walking to the ice cream parlor.

When they arrived there, Maddie recognized the lady behind the counter. The lady obviously recognized her and gave a friendly smile. Maddie returned the smile and Nick asked, "Do you know her?" Maddie nodded. She was the one that was here the night you…" she trailed off, making an awkward silence hung between them. "You know what, let's just forget about that," she said. He nodded in agreement. They bought their ice creams and they sat down at a table. "Thanks for this," Maddie said shyly. "No problem," he said. "Besides, I owe you for the last time," he said. "You don't owe me anything. You've saved my life so many times over. If anyone owes anyone anything, it's me that owes you," she said. "Why wouldn't I save you? You… you mean a lot to me," he said. She blushed and smiled. "You're my best friend," he added. She felt a surge of disappointment when he said that he was his best friend. _Don't think like that, Madison! He's your friend, and that's how it needs to stay, no matter how much you like him, _she thought to herself.

"You mean a lot to me too," she said to him. He smiled and she returned his smiled. They began talking about the things they hope to with their lives when they become full adults. "You want to play 'I never'?" Maddie asked Nick. "How do you play?" Nick queried. "Well, one of us tells the other person something they have never done before, and if the other person _has _done the thing that the other person hasn't, then you take a bite of the ice cream," she said. "Cool. You start," said Nick. Maddie sent him a playful glare and thought. "I've never drank an alcoholic beverage," she said. Nick winced and slowly took a bite of the ice cream. "You drank before?" she asked him, surprised. "Yeah, but it was because of peer-pressure. It happened it fresh-men year," he said. Maddie giggled and then motioned for him to go next. "I've never kissed a man," he said. Maddie laughed. But then they both became silent. She remembered the time when she had kissed Nick and then took a bite of her ice cream. Nick remembered kiss too and he blushed slightly.

Maddie then said, "Well… I've never made out with anyone," she said. Nick glared at her and he took a bite of his ice cream. "I've never… fallen in love," he said. "What about Kuinn?" Maddie asked. "I _liked_ her. I didn't lover her," he said. Maddie nodded understandingly. Then she took a bite of her ice cream. Nick's eyes widened. Ms. Rocca has fallen in love with somebody before?" he asked teasingly. She made a fake smiled. "Ha ha, very funny," she said. "Who did you fall in love with?" he asked her. "I'm not telling you!" she said, punching him playfully. He laughed and then Madison said, "I've never had a dog, even though I love them," she said. Nick took a bite of his ice cream. "You've never had a dog?" he asked. She shook her head disappointedly. "I used to bother my parents for one, but they aren't animal people, so they never got me one," she sighed. Nick felt sympathy for her, but then said, "I've never ridden a horse," he said. Maddie's jaw dropped. "Really? I love horses," she said. "I think they're cool, but I'm afraid they'll buck me off," Nick said. Maddie rolled her eyes. "They're really gentle animals… I'll have to make you get on one," she said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Nick smiled and then she said, "I never liked frogs," she said with a shudder. "Why not?" asked Nick. "Because when I was little, Vida put one down my shirt," she muttered. Nick laughed. "Really?" he asked. Maddie nodded. "Ever since then, I've hated frogs," she said. "I never was afraid to go on roller coasters when I was younger," he said. Maddie took a bite of her ice cream. "I was always afraid," she laughed. "But now I'm not," she said.

They played 'I never' for five more minuets. "Well, that was fun," said Nick. Maddie smiled. "It's supposed to be a game where two people get to know each other better," she said. "But it usually turns out to be a funny, laugh out loud game," she said to him. He nodded.

They finished their ice creams and then they left. They walked down the road to where they had left Nick's motorcycle. "Thanks for tonight, Nick," she said shyly. He nodded. "No problem," he said. "You need to ride home?" he asked. "Um, no it's okay. I'll call V. She'll pick me up," she told him. "Thanks though," she murmured. "You sure?" he asked. She nodded. They hugged and then he put his helmet on and rode off.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The next day during class, the teacher announced that they were going on a two week camping trip. Chip got really excited quickly. "Can you imagine? Being in the wilderness for two weeks?" exclaimed Chip with pure excitement. Maddie laughed. "It sounds pretty cool," admitted Xander. Vida shrugged her shoulders and then nodded. "I guess it sounds okay. The only think I'm worried about is who's going to protect Briarwood while we're gone," said Vida. Maddie nodded in agreement. "Do you think Udonna will let us go?" she asked Nick.

Nick looked uneasy. "I don't know, but I'm sure she will," he said. Maddie sat down next to Nick and Vida gave them a teasing stare. Nick looked confused, but Maddie glared at her sister. Xander and Chip thankfully didn't notice. Maddie sighed and then looked down.

Later that day, Xander explained the camping trip to Udonna. "Do you think Briarwood could do without us for two weeks?" asked Maddie. "No, but you can go, for I have some old friends who will do the job for you when you are gone," said Udonna. Chip smiled and said, "Yes! We get to go!" Udonna laughed, but then said, "Still be careful rangers, for the darkness will still follow you, so be sure to take your morphers," she said.

Maddie and Vida began packing that night, for they left the next day. Their parents had said it was okay and all was going well. "This is going to be so much fun," said Maddie excitedly. "Come on, Maddie. Now you sound like Chip," said Vida. They both laughed.

They arrived at the bus at school the next day. Xander, Chip and Nick were there. Xander had packed a lot of things. "Wow, Xander. Are you trying to move into the woods or something?" asked Vida, looking at all of the stuff he had packed. "I didn't pack a lot," Xander said. Maddie raised an eyebrow and she and Nick exchanged a glance. She giggled and walked over to Nick. The others left to go and talk to the driver and Maddie saw something hanging out of Nick's pack. "What's this?" she asked, picking it up. It was a small red baby blanket.

"No, wait!" he protested, but Maddie had already gotten it. "Aw, it's a baby blanket. You saved it since you were a baby?" she asked. "That's cute," she said, smiling and giggling. He blushed. She just smiled at the blanket and then handed it back to him. "It's the only thing I have from my birth parents," he said. Her smile disappeared. "Oh, you're adopted. I didn't know…" she trailed off. "No, it's okay. I mean, my adopted parents are great. I turned out fine. It's just…well, I keep it because… well, actually, I don't know why I keep it," he said. She bit her lip. "I'm sorry," she said. He shook his head. "It's alright," he said. He put it back in his pack and they walked over to the bus.

Neither of them spoke for a long time. "So, I heard we'll be riding horses there," he said. "Yeah, I'm really excited about that. You're not afraid, are you?" she asked teasingly. He shook his head. "No. I'm actually looking forward to it," he said. They boarded the bus. Maddie looked for a seat with her sister, but she had already found a seat with Chip and Xander was sitting with some girl. Everyone was sitting with someone. Vida gave her sister a look and Maddie realized she had to sit with Nick. She could tell he felt awkward too. They took their seats and she tensed when their shoulders touched. But after a while, she relaxed. "So…" she said. For a while, they didn't speak.

They sat on the bus for six hours. They had been on the road for two hours only. Maddie felt sleepy and she couldn't help it when she fell asleep and rested her head on Nick's shoulder.

Nick looked down at a sleeping Maddie. She slept for an hour and a half and then she blinked her eyes open slowly. She murmured something that Nick didn't catch. She lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. "How long was I asleep for?" she asked. "An hour and a half," he said. "You okay?" he asked. She smiled and nodded. "Sorry for leaning on your shoulder," she murmured shyly. He smiled and nodded. "It's okay," he said.

Maddie took out her notebook and began drawing the forest. "Wow, you're really good," he said, looking at what she was drawing. She smiled and the said "Thanks." They finally arrived at the campsite and they piled off the bus. "Finally we're here," Maddie said. Nick nodded. "It felt more like twelve hours than six," he admitted. Maddie nodded in agreement. They began walking to the campsite. It was a long walk. "When are we going to get there?" moaned Vida. Maddie felt tired after an hour of walking up a hill. They were all panting with exhaustion. Maddie stumbled and fell back, but someone caught her. It was Nick. "You okay?" he asked with concern. Her cheeks flushed red. "Yeah," she said and regained her balance.

They walked through the forest, stepping through the tall bright green grass. Flowers of every color and shape speckled the grass as they breathed in the sunlight that shone through the leaves of the tall oak and pine trees. "It's beautiful," Maddie gasped, stopping to admire the nature. Vida came up to her. "I saw you fall into Nick's arms," she whispered. Maddie rolled her eyes. "Just let it be, Vida. It didn't mean anything," said Maddie in an irritated tone. Vida shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, fine," muttered Vida. "But come on, Maddie. It's obvious he likes you," said Vida with a smile.

Vida's smile suddenly disappeared. "Or not," she whispered, beckoning towards where Nick was and a cute girl with long golden brown hair and pale blue eyes. Maddie winced. Vida looked at her sister with concern. "Maddie I'm sorry," murmured Vida. Maddie shook her head and pushed past her sister. "Just stay out of it, V" she muttered and kept on walking. She saw the girl flirting with Nick. She recognized who it was. It was Jessica! Her friend! She walked up to Nick and Jessica. "Hey Jessica," she said in a friendly tone. "Oh, hey Maddie. I was just talking to Nick," she explained shyly, as if she had suspected Maddie would be mad at her for talking to him. Maddie just forced a smile.

"Oh, cool. Um… I'm going to… go over and…" she trailed off as she saw Jessica and Nick begin a conversation. "Yeah, sure, bye Maddie," said Jessica before Maddie could even finish her sentence. Maddie sighed and then walked ahead of the two. She greeted Xander with a teasing smile when she saw him dragging his entire luggage up the hill tiredly. He was covered in sweat and was panting. Vida and Chip were walking behind him, laughing about something. She just walked alone.

After ten more minuets, they arrived at the campsite. It was a large, beautiful clearing with grass and beautiful flowers. The sky was growing dark to the point where it was turning pink, yellow and purple. The sun was setting. They put up the tents quickly and made a big fire. Everything was ready and organized. "Time to eat!" called one of the three teachers that had come on the trip.

Everyone got a dish, but Maddie just sat apart from everyone else and tossed her food around her plate like she usually did when she wasn't hungry. Jessica came and sat down next to her. "Hey, Madison! I just wanted to talk to you about something," said Jessica. "Okay, spill," said Maddie with a smile. "I'm going to ask Nick out," said Jessica. "I've been spending some time with him on the way up here, and even before the trip, I've been watching him kind of. And I think he likes me back," said Jessica. "I just wanted to let you know first, since you guys have become friends," said Jessica. Maddie froze and felt her heart drop. She didn't let it show, though. "Um, yeah, I'm fine with it. Totally," she said. "Great! Thanks, Maddie!" said Jessica and then she stood and pranced over to Nick who was sitting alone by his tent.

Maddie watched them for a while and she saw them laughing and talking. Jessica took Nick's hand and then said something. Nick froze for a second and then caught Maddie's eye. She quickly looked away, but kept her gaze on them. He then said something and Jessica smiled and kissed him on the lips. It was brief, but long enough for Maddie to see that Nick had kissed her back.

She didn't feel angry, but she did feel sad and disappointed. Maddie stood and took her dish to the dish pile and then walked over to Vida, who looked at her sister with sadness. "Maddie, I saw what happened with Nick and Jessica. You must feel really awful," she said. "I'm… disappointed, but Jessica's my friend, and so is Nick. If they like each other, why stand in their way?" she murmured. Vida hugged her sister and Maddie hugged her back. "Thanks for being there for me, Vida," whispered Maddie. "No problem, Maddie," said Vida. They walked to their tent, and Maddie pulled out a book and walked down to the creek. She began reading silently… the sound of gentle rushing water echoing in the air.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

When Nick had kissed Jessica, he felt nothing for her. He just didn't know how to tell her that. He had seen Maddie watching them and his thoughts lingered on when they had kissed. When he had kissed Maddie, he had to admit he had felt something… and it had been very strong. Did he have feelings for Maddie? He shook his head. He didn't… or did he? He felt so confused.

He felt someone sit down next to him. It was Vida. "Where's Maddie?" she asked. "I don't know. The last time I saw her, she was walking around with a book," he said. Vida sighed. "She's by the creek," Vida murmured. "Well, I guess she's alright. I was just wondering where she was," said Vida, standing up and walking away. Jessica then came and sat next to him and kissed him briefly. Again, he felt nothing. Jessica began talking to him about Maddie. "She was always so quiet, but she was always loving and caring. She loves adventures, but is always cautious," said Jessica. "I can see why you guys are friends," she said to Nick. Nick smiled. "Yeah, she's a really good friend. She's just… Maddie," he said. "I don't think there's anyone in the world like her. She's valued a lot, even though she may not know it," he said, but then he realized what he had just said. He wasn't even thinking about what he had said. It just slipped out, but it was the truth at least. Jessica tensed. Nick felt uneasy too.

"Well, I'm going to go and talk to my friends," said Jessica. Nick wondered if he had made her feel uncomfortable, talking about Maddie like that. He winced. If he had, he hadn't meant to. Feeling a bit awkward, he stood and just walked down a dirt path. He heard something and wondered what it was…

Maddie just sat there. She suddenly just began singing a song…

_You are fine, you are sweet_

_But I'm still a bit naïve…_

_With my heart…_

_When you're close, I don't breathe_

_I can't find the words to speak_

_I feel sparks…_

_But I don't want to be into you_

_If you're not looking for true love… oh oh_

_No I don't want to start seeing you_

_If I can't be your only one,_

_So tell me…_

_When it's not alright_

_When it's not okay,_

_Will you try to make me feel better?_

_Will you say alright?_

_Will you say okay?_

_Will you stick with me through whatever?_

_Or run away…_

_When you call,_

_I don't know_

_If I should pick up the phone_

_Every time…_

_I'm not like_

_All my friends,_

_Who keep calling up the boys_

_I'm so shy…_

_But I don't want to be into you_

_If you don't treat me the right way… oh oh_

_See I can only start seeing you_

_If you can make my heart feel safe… feel safe_

_When it's not alright_

_When it's not okay_

_Will you try to make me feel better?_

_Will you say alright?_

_Will you say okay?_

_Will you stick with me through whatever?_

_Or run away…_

_Let me know if it's gonna be you_

_Boy you've got some things to prove_

_Let me know that you'll keep me safe_

_I don't want you to run away so…_

_Let me know that you'll call on time_

_Let me know that you'll help me shine_

_Will you wipe my tears away?_

_Will you hold me close and say… alright_

_When it's not alright_

_When it's not okay_

_Will you try to make me feel better?_

_Will you say alright?_

_Will you say okay?_

_Will you stick with me through whatever?_

_Or run away…_

_Say that it's gonna be alright_

_That it's gonna be okay_

_Don't run away…_

_Will you say okay…_

Nick followed the sound. It was a beautiful sound and he wondered what it was. He followed the sound and heard that it belonged to a girl… who sang beautifully. The song ended and he peered through the bushes to see Maddie sitting down by the creek, a book in her arms and her brown eyes staring into nothingness. He began to back up slowly when she said, "I can hear you, you know." He stepped out of the bushes. "How did you hear me?" he asked. She turned around and looked at him. "Never underestimate a girl," she said. "I wasn't… I was just-" he broke off when she punched him in the arm playfully. "Why were you spying on me?" she asked. "I wasn't spying. I hear someone singing and I followed the sound," he said. She looked down, obviously embarrassed. "No one was supposed to hear me," she murmured. He made a small smile. "If it helps, I think you have a beautiful voice," he stammered, blushing slightly. She smiled and blushed too. "Thanks," she said. They found themselves just standing there, looking into one another's eyes. Maddie remembered the last time they had been standing in the middle of the forest, looking at each other. That was the time they had kissed.

She quickly looked away, even though she knew she could have stayed like that forever. He looked away too and they began their journey back to the campsite. When they got there, Jessica came up to Nick and kissed him. The kiss was long, and Maddie looked away and walked away, wondering why Jessica would do that right in front of her.

She walked over to Vida and sat down, wondering if she should be happy that she had been complimented by Nick, or sad because she had just seen her best friend kiss the guy she had a major crush on. Her expression was unreadable. She went back to her tent and changed into her night clothes. She then crawled into the blankets and fell asleep for the night.

The sunlight woke Maddie. She felt the warmth on her skin and she yawned and rose. She pulled a brush through her hair and dressed quickly. She came out of her tent and saw that not many people were up. Two of the teachers were awake and about seven out of the thirty kids were awake. She walked through the forest alone, but froze when she heard something.

Suddenly, a boy about thirteen with light brown hair appeared. "Oh, uh, hi," said the boy. "Hello," greeted Maddie. "Have you seen two girls? They're both twelve," queried the boy. "No, sorry. What's your name?" asked Maddie. "I'm Adam, what's your name?" asked the boy. "I'm Madison, but everyone calls me Maddie," said Maddie. "Nice to meet you. You must be here on a two week camping trip," Adam said. "Yeah, how did you know?" asked Maddie. "Because we are too, except we're here with the middle-school groups. I'm looking for these two girl named Amber and Alyssa. They keep sneaking off and getting into trouble, especially Amber," muttered Adam.

"Well, I'll look out for them," said Maddie. "Thanks," said Adam. They waved goodbye and left. Maddie took two steps and then heard something again. "Adam! You still here?" called Maddie. "No, but is he gone?" asked a whispering voice. "Who's there?" asked Maddie. "Down here," said another voice. Maddie looked down to see two girls kneeling in the bushes. They stepped out. One girl had long brown hair while the other girl looked a bit older and taller. "So, Maddie, he's gone, right?" said the taller girl. "Yeah," said Maddie. "You two must be Amber and Alyssa," said Maddie. "Yeah, I'm Amber," said the girl with long brown hair. "And this is Alyssa," said Amber.

"Why are you guys running away from Adam?" asked Maddie. "Because he's the worst group leader ever, and not to mention he's mean and is such a rude jerk!" muttered Amber, crossing her arms over her chest. Maddie raised an eyebrow. That sounded familiar. "He seemed pretty nice to me. I'm pretty sure he's nice once you get to know him," she said, remembering when she had told everyone she had hated Nick, and now she had a huge crush on him. "Adam's just fun to mess with," Alyssa said with mischief.

"If you see him, please don't tell him that you saw us," pleaded Amber. Maddie nodded. "Okay," she said with a laugh. Amber smiled. "Thanks. Well, see you around," said Amber and Alyssa. The two girls then walked away. Maddie remembered when she was twelve. Vida would get both of them in so much trouble all the time, but she had admit that it had been somewhat fun.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

She walked back to camp and frowned when she saw Nick with Jessica. She rolled her eyes and walked over to Vida. "Are you going on the horse-back riding trip?" she asked her sister. "Chip is, but Xander and I aren't," said Vida. Maddie shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, well, I think we're leaving, so I'll see you later," she told her sister.

Maddie and about eight other people that included Jessica, Chip and Nick began their trip to the stable. When they reached the stable, the people measured the teens and weighed them that way they could determine which horse they would ride. "Now, before you get on the horse, you need to from a bond between you and the horse, that way they will get to know you," said the stable owner. "Before you ride, the stable hands will show you how to groom and tack up the horses," said the man, "That is unless you know about horses," he continued.

After being measured and weighed, they each got their horses. Maddie stroked the horse that was lead to her. It was a six mare, which meant a female horse at least four years old or over. She was a beautiful palomino mare. She had a lovely yellow golden coat with a snowy white mane and tail with a white star on her forehead. "What's her name?" asked Maddie. "Her name's Daybreak," said the stable hand. Maddie patted the mare's neck and said, "Hello, Daybreak." The stable hand smiled. He was cute and was about seventeen. "Do you know a lot about horses?" he asked. "Yeah, I do," she said. "I'm Maddie," she said. "I'm Dylan," he said. They shook hands.

Maddie and Dylan lead Daybreak to the rail and tied her up. Dylan gave her the grooming kit and the tack, which were the saddle and the bridle. She took out the dandy brush and began grooming the mare. She heard Jessica and looked over her shoulder to see Jessica grooming her horse which was next to Nick's horse. She sighed. Dylan noticed and said, "Is he your boyfriend?" Maddie looked down and shook her head. "No, just a friend," she said. Maddie picked up the body brush and brushed the mare's pelt. After grooming the mare, she put on the bridle and she tried to pick up the saddle, but it was heavy and she dropped it.

"Here, let me help," said Dylan and helped her pick it up. He helped her put the saddle on Daybreak's back and then she mounted up. Dylan smiled. "Good luck," he said. She blushed. "Thanks," she said and clicked her tongue and kicked the mare's sides to make her go forward. The mare walked up to where Chip was. He was riding a handsome dapple gray gelding. "Aw, your horse is so cute," said Maddie. "His name is Shadow. He's cool, except for the fact he stepped on my foot when I was cleaning his hoofs," said Chip. Maddie laughed. "This is Daybreak," she said, leaning forward and rubbing the mare's neck.

She trotted up to Nick. "I saw you with Jessica," she said uneasily. "Yeah, she's cool. I like her," he said. Maddie stiffened. "But I don't think I like her as a girlfriend," he said. "Really!" she exclaimed. Then she caught herself and then said in a serious voice, "I mean, really?" Nick shrugged his shoulders. "I saw you talking with that guy. Who was he?" he asked suspiciously. "That was Dylan, why?" she asked him. "Just wanted to know," he said. Maddie let out an irritated sigh. "You're not going to be all protective of me. I already get enough of that from Vida," she said. Nick laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not like that," he said. She smiled and giggled. "What's your horse's name?" she asked. Nick was riding a handsome chestnut gelding. His coat was a bright light orange brown color and he had a white stripe.

"Oh, his name's Firestar," said Nick. "Reminds me of you," she said gently. They looked into each others eyes. Her cheeks flushed pink and she looked down. "So…" she said, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, Dylan came trotting up to them on a bay mare. "Hey, Maddie," he said, not even acknowledging Nick Maddie introduced them. "Yeah, um, I want to show you around the forest. We're aloud to go off on our own now, just so long as you know how to get around," he said. "Oh, sure, um… I'll see you later Nick," she said, giving him a small smile. "Um, yeah, see you," he said, wondering where Dylan was going to take her.

Maddie followed Dylan, feeling a bit shy, but good at the same time. Dylan led her to a clearing. It was beautiful with a little creek that the two horses' waded in. "Wow, it's beautiful," said Maddie. Dylan nodded. "I've known about this place for a long time. It's a secret place. I've just been trying to find the right girl to show it to," said Dylan. Maddie smiled shyly. "Maddie!" someone called. Maddie turned in the saddle to see Nick and Chip standing there. "We need to go back," Nick said seriously. Dylan gave Nick a hard stare. "She doesn't have to," he said. "Yeah she does, now come on, Madison," Nick said. Maddie wondered why Nick was being so rude. "I'm sorry, Dylan. I have to go," she said. "No you don't. You don't have to listen to him," he said. Maddie thought for a second. She was so used to being told what to do by Nick with him being the leader of the rangers and all. "Um… I know, but I think I should go," she said. Dylan nodded and leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

She smiled shyly and blushed. "Come on, Maddie!" called Chip uneasily. She shot Dylan an apologetic look and cantered over to the two guys. She slowed Daybreak to a trot, and then a walk. "What were you thinking?" asked Nick angrily. "What?" asked Maddie, obviously confused. "Going off along with him. And then he kisses you when he hardly knows you," spat Nick. "Dylan is a nice guy. And besides, you didn't seem to have a problem when you kissed Kuinn when you hardly knew her. And you kissed her on the lips," she said angrily. "Come on, Nick. You said you wouldn't be protective of me," she said. "What's wrong?" she asked. "We just think that you shouldn't go off with someone you hardly know," said Chip hesitantly. "I can't believe you guys. I thought you guys could trust me. I can take care of myself," she said to both of them.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

When they got back to camp, Maddie couldn't help but go up to Nick and ask "Why did you go off on me like that?" Nick looked at her. "Maddie, come on. You hardly knew that guy. And I could tell… he's… I just don't trust him," said Nick. "You say that like you know him!" said Maddie angrily. "I don't, but… there's just something about him that I don't trust," he said. "Oh, so when you fall for someone, it's okay, but when I decide to take a chance and try to find someone, it's suddenly a big problem!" she spat. "No, I didn't mean it like that," he said. She looked really hurt. "Look, I don't want to fight again," she said. "I just… I've never had luck with guys, and I think this could be a chance for me," she said. "Um… I have to go," she said and ran off. "Maddie, wait!" he called after her.

"Great, I did it again," he said to himself, hating himself for getting Maddie angry again. Whenever he fought with her, it always made him feel really awkward. Even before they became friends, he always felt kind of weird when he was around her. Then it hit him. He really was in love with Maddie.

Maddie walked out of camp and then someone came out of the bushes. Maddie recognized the person. It was Amber. "Amber, you scared me," she said. "Sorry," Amber said with an apologetic expression. "I heard what happened with you and that guy over there," she said. "What happened?" she asked. Maddie sighed. She began walking, but Amber followed her. "I may be twelve, but I'm only four years younger than you, so I think I can understand," Amber said. "Well, I met this guy and I really like him, and then there's Nick, who I also like, but we were once sworn enemies," Maddie began. Amber listened as Maddie explained how she and Nick were once enemies and now she likes him, but he's going out with someone else… and on and on.

"So, you have feelings for both guys, but the one who you really like is going out with someone else?" asked Amber. "Yeah," Maddie said with a long sigh. "Who do you feel more comfortable with?" asked Amber. "Well… Nick of course, but that's only because I've known him longer," said Maddie. "Well, go out with Dylan and see how you really feel about him. Then… just… follow your heart," said Amber. "But to tell you the truth, Nick sounds like a better guy. I've heard a lot about Dylan, and most people say that he hooks up with girls, but he's never stayed with one for more than a few months. He says that he's still looking for that right girl, but… well, just be careful," said Amber. "You know a lot for a twelve year old," said Maddie. "I've never had a boyfriend before, but I love listening, watching and reading about romance. I'm more of the books and homework kind of girl," said Amber. "I've never been popular," she said with a disappointed face. "Don't worry. I've never been the popular kid either. I like reading and homework too. Some people think its weird, but I can't help it," said Maddie. "Me too!" exclaimed Amber. "Finally, someone who feels the same way as me," said Amber.

Maddie laughed. Suddenly, Adam appeared with an angry face. "Amber, where have you been?" he asked. Amber rolled her eyes. "Come on, Adam. Lighten up. I'm here with Maddie," she said. Adam said hi to Maddie and then glared at Amber. She returned his stare and Maddie couldn't help but smile when she remembered when she and Nick were like that. "Come on. We need to get back to camp," he said. "Come on. Can't I stay with Maddie?" she pleaded. "No, now come on," he said. "Just because you're _one_ year older than me, doesn't mean you can boss me around," spat Amber. "Whatever, just come on," he snapped. Amber's eyes grew from anger to disappointment and pushed past him and began walking to her camp. Adam walked behind her.

Maddie wished Amber could stay. She enjoyed the company, but she shrugged. It was funny, watching two kids fight, and then knowing that they'll probably like each other one day… well, at least be friends and one person like the other, but the other person thinks of the other just as a friend. She sighed and kept walking. After a few minuets, she saw the stable and she smiled when she saw Dylan. He saw her and jogged over to her. "Hey, Maddie," he said. "Hey, Dylan," she said. "So, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Um… I just wanted to say hi," she said. He smiled. "You… want to go on a walk?" he asked. "Sure," she said. He took her hand and she felt a strong feeling that told her that she wished it was Nick that wad holding her hand.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

She and Dylan walked along a worn out dirt path. "So, did that Nick guy give you any trouble?" he asked her. Maddie frowned and looked down at the ground. "Because if he did-" Dylan began, but was cut off by Maddie. "No, he didn't do anything. He just… is being protective of me, is all. He's one of my best friends, so I don't blame him," she explained. Dylan looked unconvinced, but he didn't object.

Dylan led Maddie to the clearing he had taken her the day before. "Thanks," said Maddie. "For what?" he asked. "I don't know… just for being a good friend," she said. Dylan looked at her with soft eyes. "Maybe we could be more than friends," he said, leaning forward and kissing her on the lips. She didn't know what to do, so she just did what she did with Nick and kissed him back. His lips suddenly feel to her neck, and she felt a bit uncomfortable. "Dylan, I…" she trailed off as he shushed her. His hands began lingering over her body and she pulled away. "Dylan, I'm not ready for this," she said. "But I am," he said and pulled her close to him and put his lips to her neck again. "Dylan, stop!" she yelled, but he kept kissing her. She tried pulling away, but he kept a good grip on her.

"Hey, jerk-face, let her go!" shouted a voice from behind Dylan. Maddie looked past Dylan to see Amber and Adam. Amber picked up a rock and threw it at Dylan. She missed. She picked up another, but Adam grabbed her arm. "Amber, don't," he said. "Let go of me," she said and jerked her arm free and threw the rock at Dylan. This time, it hit his head and he shouted in pain. He let go of Maddie and touched the back of his head and looked at his hand, which had blood on it. "I'll get you for that!" he shouted. "Come on, Maddie!" said Amber. Maddie, Amber and Adam ran into the forest. Amber stopped to pick up another rock, but Adam grabbed her arm before she could pick up the rock. Amber looked up to see Dylan was really close and she forgot about the rock and continued running with Maddie and Adam. Maddie felt a rush of gratitude towards the two kids. If they hadn't come, she'd probably be in big trouble right now.

"This way," said Amber ad lead the way towards a thick part of woodland where there were a lot of boulders and trees close together. "Amber, wait!" called Maddie. Amber let Adam and Maddie go in front of her. Maddie wished Nick were there. She always felt content and safe with him. Why was she always the one to get into dangerous trouble? But whenever something bad happened to her, Nick was always there. "Maddie, hurry!" said Amber. Maddie looked behind them to see Dylan coming towards them, but he was far behind. They climbed over this huge boulder. Amber stumbled and screamed, almost falling back onto some sharp rocks, but Adam grabbed her hand and helped pull her back up. She came up and her face and Adam's were about one inch from each others. Maddie saw Amber's cheeks turn pink and her eyes widened when she saw Dylan coming towards them.

"Come on," Maddie said and they ran to a boulder. They walked behind it that way Dylan wouldn't see them. Dylan rushed past the boulder and Amber poked her head over the top, but Adam pulled her back down and put his hand over her mouth. She objected, but he gave her a warning stare. Maddie remembered she had her morpher and pulled it out. She motioned for Adam and Amber to stay there. "Like I can go anywhere with his hand on my mouth," muttered Amber when Adam removed his hand from her mouth. He glared at her and she just looked down and bit her lip.

Maddie smiled and then tip toed to another boulder and called Nick. "Hello?" said Nick when he answered his morpher. "Nick, we need help. You were right… Dylan is a bad guy, I'm sorry," she said, beginning to cry out of fear. "Maddie, slow down, where are you?" he asked. "I-I don't know," she said. "Dylan tried to…" she trailed off, and she knew Nick knew what she was talking. "Maddie, I'm sorry," he said. "Nick, we're in the woods somewhere," she said. "Who's we?" asked Nick. "Amber, Adam and I," she said, and then explained to him who Adam and Amber were. "Okay, I'll get Chip, Xander and Vida and we'll find you guys," he said. "We'll find you, Maddie. I promise," he said. "I know," she said, and they hung up.

Maddie walked back over where Amber and Adam were. Amber's knee was bleeding badly. "I must have scrapped it when I slipped on the rock," said Amber when she saw Maddie looking at her leg. Amber put her hand over it, trying to stop the bleeding. Maddie took off her jacket and wrapped it around Amber's leg. Amber jumped when it stung. "You okay?" asked Maddie. Amber nodded, but Maddie saw tears of pain swelling in her eyes, but she could also see Amber fighting to hold them back. "Was that Nick?" Amber asked. "Yeah, he, my sister and my two other friends are coming to get us," Maddie explained. "We saw your morpher," said Adam. Maddie stiffened. "We can't believe you're one of the power rangers," said Amber excitedly. "You're the blue mystic force ranger, right?" asked Adam. Maddie nodded. "Don't worry, we won't tell your secret," said Amber. Maddie made a small smile. "Thanks, guys," she said. Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes, and they all froze. Then Dylan stepped out of the bushes.

He had a gun with him too. "Dylan, don't do anything stupid," said Maddie in a scared, yet calm voice. Amber grabbed a rock, but Adam made her drop it. "Don't you do anything stupid, either," Adam whispered to Amber. Dylan shook his head. He was about to pull the trigger, but then Maddie said, "Magical Source. Mystic Force!" and powered up. Dylan's eyes widened with surprise. "What? How?" he stammered. "Surprised?" asked Maddie. Dylan was surprised, but that didn't stop him from pulling the trigger. But Maddie was quicker and she made water sprout from the ground and carry him high in the air. He dropped his gun, and Maddie took it and threw it against a boulder to break it.

Dylan came down, and Maddie crossed her arms over her chest. "Leave," she said. Dylan nodded and turned around and ran off as fast as he could.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Nick, Vida and Xander and Chip arrived about fifteen minuets later. Maddie saw Nick and her heart rose. She ran towards him. He wrapped his arms around her when she reached him. She hugged him back. "I'm so glad to see you," she breathed. "I'm glad to see you too," he whispered back. Vida ran to her sister and Maddie let go of Nick and hugged her sister, and then Chip and Xander. "Where did that Dylan guy go?" asked Xander. "Yeah, let's go and track him down," said Chip excitedly. "That way I can flay his skin off," said Vida. "He's gone. Maddie scared him off," said Amber, limping up to the rangers. "I take it you guys are the other rangers," said Amber. "Wait… how did you know?" asked Xander. "I kind of powered up and scared Dylan off," said Maddie with a guilty expression. "But we wont tell anyone, we promise," said Adam, trying to help Amber balance, but she jerked her arms away from him and they glared at each other.

All five rangers looked at each other with knowing looks. "What?" asked Amber. "Nothing," they all said at the same time.

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While walking back, Maddie and Nick didn't say anything for a long time. "You were right, Nick. I am so sorry," she murmured. Nick looked at her. They were way behind the other, so they couldn't hear what they were talking about. "But still, I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. I'm the one who should be apologizing," he said. "I guess we've both learned something today, then," she said with a smile, her cheeks turning pink. He smiled and their eyes met. "Nick, I… um, thank you," she said. "What are you thanking me for?" he asked. "For becoming my friend, and always being there for me," she said shyly. They stopped, and they wrapped their arms around each other and hugged one another.

"Eh hem," said a voice from behind them. Maddie turned around to see Amber standing there with her arms crossed over her chest with a smile on her face. Maddie and Nick both blushed. Amber giggled and walked past them, and pushed past Adam, bumping him in the shoulder. "Klutz," he said to her. "Jerk," she retorted hotly. Nick and Maddie started to laugh silently.

The days passed, and soon, the camping trip was over. "You ready to go back home?" Maddie asked Nick. Nick nodded. "I think I've had enough excitement for weeks," he told her with a laugh. She smiled gently. "I know. And besides, I miss everyone back home," she said. He nodded. "Udonna's probably going to be so happy to see us," he said. "Yeah, I miss her," murmured Maddie. "Me too," said Nick. "Well, let's go then," she said. "Hey, Maddie!" called a voice. Maddie turned around to see Amber waving to her. Maddie walked over to Amber and they hugged. "Hey, thanks for… everything," said Maddie. "No problem," said the seventh grader. They said goodbye to each other and then Maddie boarded the bus with Nick and the others.

Maddie took a seat next to Nick. She leaned against his shoulder when she fell asleep like when they had come. When Maddie woke up, they were ten minuets from home. When they got off the bus, they all hurried to Rootcore.

Udonna hugged and welcomed every one of them. Clare was just as excited. "So, tell us what happened!" exclaimed Clare with excitement. Vida told Udonna everything that had happened, even the parts about Dylan and how Maddie powered up in front of him. "Sounds like you all had an adventure," said Udonna. "We did," said Xander. "Especially Maddie," said Chip. They all nodded in agreement. "Not just me," she said in defense. "Come on, Maddie. You almost went out with a bad guy, you became good friends with a seventh grader, you were almost killed, and you got lost in the forest, _and _two kids found out that you were a power ranger," said Xander. "Someone found out about you being a power ranger?" asked Udonna seriously. "Don't worry. I can trust them. They're good kids," said Maddie. "Not to mention they fight exactly the way you and Nick used to," said Vida with a laugh. Maddie shot her sister a glare, but Vida ignored it.

Two days passed, and they had gotten back to their routine and fighting evil and training hard. Nick was hanging out with Jessica, and Maddie was looking on. She had completely forgotten that Jessica and Nick were going out, but Nick had told her he didn't like her as a girlfriend, or was he lying? She didn't know… but she still felt jealous that he was spending all of his time with her.

Then their morphers rang. "Rangers, there's trouble. And it's greater then anything you've ever dealt with before," said Udonna. They raced to where the darkness monster was. But when they got there, they realized it wasn't just one of the usual ordinary monsters… it was the master!

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Authors Note: I know I haven't covered all of the Mystic Force parts. For example (Daggeron, Leanbow, Nick being Udonna's son) but I've been getting writer's block, so can we please pretend that all of that stuff that I left out already happened? Thanks. Again, sorry about that, but other than that, I hope you all have been liking this story, but I must warn you, It's almost ending... but don't worry, there are still more Maddie and Nick adventures yet to come Hint (there is going to be a sequel)


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"It's the master!" shouted Chip. They began fighting the monster. They changed into mystic titans, then the mystic lion and firebird. The master struck them with his dark magic and they all fell. They changed back to their regular forms and they stood and just when they were about to fight, the master took them into the darkness.

"Welcome to your new home," said the master in an evil and dark tone. "You won't get away with this!" Maddie shouted. "Oh, but I will," said the master. "Now fight!" he ordered, throwing the rangers on the floor. They transformed into the mystic lion and firebird again and they fought the master. The master grabbed them and threw them down. "He's too strong," said Vida. "What are we going to do?" said Xander. "We're going to fight," said Nick. "Yeah!" said Maddie. Vida nodded in agreement.

They stood and struck the master with a red colored light that was good magic. The master stumbled and they struck him with the sword. The master yelled in anger and on the third time they struck him, he grabbed the sword and broke it. They all fell and turned into their regular forms. "Hurry, in here!" shouted Xander. They saw a cave and they all ran into it. Maddie leaned against the stone wall. "We need to keep going. He's going to win, and we can't let that happen," said Vida. "Vida's right. We need to keep fighting," said Maddie in agreement. They were all tired, but all were willing… well, except Nick.

"What difference would it make? He's too strong. We're no match for him," said Nick. Maddie's eyes darkened to sadness. She shook her head and opened her mouth to say something, but Vida said something first. "So that's it? The great Nick, the brave red ranger is giving up?" she challenged. Nick didn't say anything and turned, but Xander grabbed his shoulder and turned him back around. "No, you answer her Nick. Are you giving up?" he asked. "Move Xander, get out of my way," said Nick. "No, you answer that, Nick," said Chip in a serious voice. "Yes, okay? Fine, I admit it. I'm giving up," he said. They all became silent. Maddie suddenly said, "Don't you say that." Everyone looked at her.

She walked up to Nick. "Don't you say that, not you. You have held us together through all of this! You will not give up! Listen to me! Giving up isn't an option for you! We are a team, and you are this team's leader! We go on, no matter what," she yelled at him. He looked at her, and their eyes met and they were lost in each other's eyes… until there was a massive shake in the cave and they were all struck and shocked with the master's dark magic. Maddie, Nick and the others fell and screamed in pain. Maddie closed her eyes shut and gasped in pain. Vida moaned and tried to get up, but couldn't.

Chip tried not to shout in pain while Xander held his arm. Nick fell and then from the floor, got to his hands and knees and looked at his friends. He saw Maddie and Vida moaning and Xander and Chip gritting their teeth in pain. He stood and took out his magi staff and his sword. "I call fourth all the magic in the world… and all of the magic left in my body, come to me now!" he shouted. The Master glared at him. "But you're only one," said the master darkly. "And unfortunately for you, the wrong one," he said and he fought the master alone.

Maddie looked on as Nick fought the master. "Nick!" she shouted, scared for him. He looked at her for only a moment and then struck the master's head and the master suddenly became a tiny bit weaker than he hand. He struck the master again and said, "Grab onto my hand!" he told the rangers. Maddie nodded and Xander grabbed onto Nick's hand and then Chip grabbed hold of Xander's hand and next was Madison and then Vida.

They all let out a scream when there was a bright flash and they all turned into their regular cloths and fell from the sky and onto the floor. The master appeared and then said, "I will return to the darkness and rest, but be prepared rangers, for I will be back."

"I'm afraid that isn't possible," said a voice. The rangers spun around to see who it was. It was Udonna, and Itasis and Necroali.

"And why is that, white witch?" snapped the master. "Your dark hole has been destroyed, and so have your followers," said Udonna. Necroali has revived Itasis since she was the only one that had showed Necroali any kindness.

The master then said, "There may not my hole to dwell in, but I will be back," he said and vanished. Maddie put a hand on Nick's shoulder. He didn't look at her. "Nick, are you okay?" she asked him. "Yeah," he murmured after a few moments. Vida came up and said to Nick, "I knew you wouldn't give up." Maddie smiled at him, but he just stared at the ground. "Nick?" she said. He still didn't look up.

Suddenly, the ground shook and they all stumbled. The master was back… so soon. Nick glared at the master, with such fury and anger in his eyes. "Nick?" she asked again, standing up. He didn't answer, but he began fighting the master. The others joined him, but the master was just too strong.

"He took our powers!" shouted Xander. Maddie tried to morph again, but she couldn't. "They're gone," she breathed. Nick looked at his hands and then up at the master, who had vanished again. He made his hands into fists. Maddie looked at him and walked up to him and was about to touch his shoulder, but he grabbed her hand, really hard. Maddie was shocked. "Nick, you're hurting me," she said. Nick's eyes suddenly turned back to normal, the hate and anger disappearing and he let her hand go.

She looked at him, a little scared, but mostly concerned. "Maddie, I'm… so sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to…" he trailed off. "I was just so angry," he said to her. Maddie nodded understandingly. "I know," she told him, rubbing her wrist. He winced and he took her hand and looked at it and then looked at her, his eyes telling her he was sorry beyond words.

"How can we defeat the master without magic?" asked Chip. "Yeah, how are we supposed to fight?" said Vida. "_Without magic? One is never without magic. You just need to know where to find it" said a voice. _It was the mystic mother, and suddenly, Clare appeared. "Clare, you have magic!" exclaimed Vida. "Yes, the mystic mother made me a full sorceress," she told them.

Maddie smiled and then the people of briarwood and the forest came. They told them about how they couldn't fear each other, but to unite as one and give the rangers some of their magic. They came together and joined hands and suddenly, the rangers got their powers back. "Yes!" exclaimed Nick. Maddie gave a jump of delight.

The master returned and said, "Give me your magic!" Maddie narrowed her eyes. "You got it!" they all shouted and gave all their magic to the master, and he devoured it, but it was all just too much for him. "Stop! I've taken in as much as I can. I'm going… to… explode!" the master shouted, and then, the master exploded and was destroyed forever.

They were all excited and Vida began jumping up and down in happiness while Xander and Chip took each others hands and danced in a circle. Maddie came up behind Nick and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. He turned around and they looked into each other's eyes and they leaned in to kiss, but Chip ran up to them and stood in between them and said, "Guys, the master is destroyed! Briarwood is safe forever!"

Maddie smiled and giggled as Chip ran around with excitement. Nick looked at Chip and shook his head with a small laugh. Chip ran up to Udonna and hugged her and Xander and Vida hugged.

(Back at the Rock Porium/later)

Maddie has changed into a beautiful bright blue top and some cute jeans. She walked up to Nick who was working on his bike. "So… you're leaving," she said, her voice carrying a small note of sadness and disappointment. Nick looked up at her. "Yeah, I'm going to see my adopted parents. There's a lot to tell them," he said with a small laugh. "You're not coming back?" she said. "I didn't say that," he said. "You are coming back?" she said confused. "Uh, what I'm saying is, I'd like to come back of there was something or someone to come back for," he told her. She looked at him. "Well, there is. There's… Xander, Vida, Chip, Phineas, Toby, Leelee," she said, listing the people from the top of her head.

"And um…" she trailed off, trying to find the right words to say. "And… me," she said. Nick slowly looked at her. "I want you to come back for me," she told him, not really meeting his eyes. He smiled and took something out of his bag. "Can you hold onto this?" he asked her, handing her his baby blanket. She looked at it and then gently took it and said, "Sure." He smiled and then was going to put his helmet on, but then Maddie said, "Nick, wait!" He turned around to see what was the matter, but before he could ask, she hugged him tightly. He hugged her back. And for a moment, they were lost in one another's embraces.

When they broke apart, Nick smiled at her and she forced a smile back at him, even though she felt like crying. Then, he put on his helmet and started his bike. Maddie took a few steps back and he rode off…

"He'll be back," Maddie murmured, looking at the blanket. She held it close to her and then ran back to the Rock Porium.

**THE END…**


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